


Demon In The Church

by stayupped



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action, Demon Kim Jongin | Kai, Demon being demons, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Human Oh Sehun, M/M, Mild Blood, Minor Character Death, Romance, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:34:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27148786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stayupped/pseuds/stayupped
Summary: Demons have been living among the humans, terrorizing and preying on them. Oh Sehun didn't expect his life would be spared after encountering one. The demon goes by the name Kai and as a church boy, Sehun shouldn't swear but Kai just loves pushing his buttons.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 47
Kudos: 117
Collections: EXO MONSTERFEST 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to my betas for helping me with this fic. 
> 
> prompt O45 - it feels so far fetched from the original idea but I hope you'll be able to enjoy this regardless. 
> 
> Happy reading!

It’s the sixty-fifth time in three months that he had said no, yet, the demon still persists. Perhaps there’s no such word as ‘no’ in a demon’s dictionary at all— after all, the entities in question are demons. What they do best is cause havoc in the city, corrupting minds to do evil deeds that stray humans away from God’s light. All they can do is take, take and take. Maybe it’s his fault for attracting a certain demon in the first place.

Oh Sehun has always been too curious for his own good. When a stranger told him that there’s someone in need of his help, he didn’t hesitate to help them. Of course, that someone just happened to be a demon waiting for him by the alley. Looking at the brighter side, the demon didn’t end up killing him by sucking his blood dry and consume his flesh — since humans are just very nutritious meat for demons. Still, Sehun ended up in the hospital for several days due to blood loss and a bite mark on the side of his neck but he has learnt to be grateful since he’s still alive and well (albeit traumatized).

Why would the demon spare him?

To quote the demon himself, when Sehun felt pain bursting through his neck as blood was drawn out of him, the only thing he could do that time was let out a weak cry that didn’t catch anyone’s ear.

“So pretty,” he heard the demon’s hushed, deep voice that lulled him slowly to unconsciousness. “I think I’ll spare you, pretty one.”

That was the last thing Sehun heard before he fell unconscious.

After being discharged from the hospital two days later, a man was there to drive him back to the cathedral. When Sehun saw the man who was waiting for him, his blood flared up with both anger and fear. The one who was standing by the car to pick him up was the demon who almost killed him in the alley a few days ago.

Right now, under the cross, in the middle of the cathedral hall, the boy knelt and prayed. The boy’s face was serene, eyes closed as his hands clasped into a prayer to the Lord. Oh Sehun is a diligent, faithful boy. He spent most of his time in the cathedral, more than his home, helping people and sometimes stopping by the small orphanage near the cathedral.

All in all, Sehun was loved by the townspeople. He was kind, patient, generous and handsome to top it all. Sleek black locks, deep raven hues with soft pink lips. A slender body, long legs and broad shoulders, he had both men and women in the city swoon over him.

“Pray much longer and your legs will fall asleep.” A deep, smooth voice cuts through the silence of the hall.

Sehun’s eyebrow twitches at the voice but he tries his best not to be disturbed by the honey-like voice, even if his voice sounds so alluring to him. He ignores the other, continuing to pray to the Lord for blessings and grace given to each and everyone in this town (and an abundant patience for himself).

Then the sound of a lighter being lit rung in his ear, followed by the scent of cigarette smoke and a sigh from the other. The boy gripped his hands tighter, trying to ignore that a certain someone was smoking inside the holy cathedral. Obviously, his patience is running low though it’s not a lie that Sehun is patient, he always has endured the trials and hardships that the Lord had put him through. But when it comes to him, it’s a quite different case.

“If only the angels were as beautiful as the ones in the murals,” Mocks the deep voice, “Maybe I’ll beg God for mercy to return to heaven so I can fuck around one or twelve of them.”

“Will you shut the fuck up?” The boy finally snapped, turning his head to one of the wooden chairs, glaring at the other who had a lazy smirk on his face, a cigarette hanging on one corner of his lips.

“Whoa, what a sharp tongue you have there little lamb,” The other snickered mockingly, tilting his head to the side as his gaze never left Sehun. The boy’s heart skipped a beat as he stood up, legs feeling a little bit numb but he wouldn’t let the demon have his fun. Yes, the demon, a literal demon.

The demon in front of him is what he would call a textbook demon. A pair of horns protruding from the sides of his head along with a thin black tail with a pointed end. He wore a black button down with the first three buttons open to reveal a beautiful bronzed chest. The moonlight reflecting from the windows of the cathedral emphasizes the curves of his chest excellently. On top of that shirt is a black jacket, along with black leather pants that hugged his thighs perfectly, and a pair of combat boots.

The demon’s name is Kai, and he’s the reason why Sehun had spent most of his time in the cathedral, so much so that he even slept in one of the guest rooms.

It’s not just because the demon is hot and devastatingly attractive. He’s incredibly annoying too. Sehun was naive to think he could escape the demon just by staying within the walls of the holy place. Kai spent weeks laughing at him because of that.

Taking a deep breath, Sehun turned away from the demon. No, he’s not going to indulge in the demon’s words at all. It’s a waste of breath and he doesn’t want to fall into the wrath sin because of one bothersome demon. Seeing that the clock on the side of the wall has pointed to eleven at night, Sehun decided to just go back to his apartment since sleeping inside the cathedral won’t shed the demon away.

“Going home already. Have you learnt your lesson that you can’t escape from me little lamb?”

Kai sneered and Sehun could practically see the smirk on his lips. Again, Sehun ignored him as he walked towards the door on the right side of the room. The hair behind his neck suddenly stood up and chill ran up his spine when he placed his hand on the doorknob, tanned hand covered his. He felt the presence of the demon right behind him, caging him between his body and the door as he whispered in his ear.

“Don’t ignore me, Oh Sehun.”

It sounds like a threat to him and Sehun doesn’t dare to move a muscle as Kai wraps his arm around his stomach, pulling him until his back is against his chest. He faintly smelled the scent of cigarettes from the other’s hot breath against his cheek and Sehun finally dared himself to look at him. The demon takes a whiff of his scent, humming softly like a predator appreciating the fear on its prey’s face before finally devouring it.

Sehun jolts as he feel a hot tongue pressing against his cheek, “Wha—what are you doing?” he shuttered, his heart hammering inside his chest loudly as blood went up to his cheeks and ears. His stomach tightened, feeling heat gathering on where Kai was holding him. He doesn’t know if it’s fear that made him feel this way or some other reason that Sehun couldn’t figure out. Kai’s orbs were dark as the abyss, pulling him in.

“Not so innocent as you appear to be aren’t you, little lamb?”

Sehun almost forgot how to breathe with their lips only inches apart. He wanted to close the distance between them, it seemed that Kai wanted him to do the same. Sehun would’ve done so, if only Kai didn’t turn away — which he's thankful for, but most part of him cursed that Kai turned away.

The boy followed where Kai was looking at and his eyes widened. In the same place where Sehun had prayed earlier, stood a man. He’s shorter than the two of them, black hair slicked nicely to the back as he stood beneath the moonlight, highlighting his features and of course, the disapproving frown on his lips.

“I told you not to barge into the cathedral again,” The man, Kim Junmyeon, warned.

Kim Junmyeon is the high priest of the cathedral. His late mother passed down the robe to him at her deathbed and since then, Junmyeon has become someone that Sehun respects not only because of his hard work but also his compassionate and welcoming impression he had. Junmyeon is like an older brother to Sehun. He spent most of his childhood in the cathedral and it was Junmyeon who played and helped him around.

“Oh? For the man who has the highest status in this place, you sure don’t look so grand do you?” the devil snickered, releasing his hold on Sehun to approach the shorter male with his hands on his hips. Junmyeon doesn’t seem to be fazed at all. After all, he was trained not to adhere to any demons.

While this cathedral served to hold ceremonies that involved serving the Lord, it also acts as a foundation to teach the art of demon slaying. Junmyeon is one of the demon slayers that trained under the cathedral for years, and has been the leader of the slayers in this town for nine years. People hold high respect for the other, Sehun too, as being a leader for the cathedral is no easy task and for Junmyeon to earn that rank at such a young age proves how strong and dedicated he is.

If someone can handle a demon as aggravating as Kai, it’s him.

Junmyeon just flashed him a smile, so gentle and sweet yet Sehun couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine. His heart started to beat rapidly. He knew that Junmyeon could cut a demon in half with that same smile on his face. It looks like Kai quickly catches up that the shorter male is more than he’s letting on and takes a step back with his hands raised up in the air.

“Whoa there relax, your holy one, I’m not going to cause any trouble,” Kai said sheepishly, a smile formed on his lips as his tail lay limp on his back.

The raven haired raised an eyebrow before laughing softly. Kai soon followed with a short chuckle yet Sehun couldn’t shake off the anxiety that they’re going to try taking each other’s heads off.

“How funny,” Junmyeon scoffed, “and ironic coming from you.”

Kai just cackled, putting his hands down to snug them on the pockets of his pants. “Don’t compare me with the third rate, I’m not interested in causing mischief among you pathetic creatures, you seem to be capable of doing it yourself.”

“Are you perhaps slacking off?”

“I’m not!” Kai seems flustered and embarrassed by the accusation while Junmyeon merely laughs it off. “Just to let you know, the current massacre isn’t caused by demons, but by you humans.”

Junmyeon’s raven hues glinted beneath the moonlight before he finally exhaled. “I see,” he concluded, turning his heels away from the demon before he laid his eyes on him with a warm smile. “Sehunnie, don’t forget to lock the backdoor this time.”

“Ye—yes!” He immediately straightened up, feeling flustered when he remembered the time when he accidentally let a demon (not Kai) in by not locking the back door. It’s a good thing Junmyeon was with him or else he would’ve ended up being a demon’s snack back then.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Okay, good night hyung,” Sehun nodded as Junmyeon gave Kai a side glance — a silent warning, maybe? — (to which the demon just shrugged) before exiting the cathedral. It’s him and the demon again now.

Sehun didn’t wait for Kai to speak up, twisting the doorknob and walking towards the guestroom he had been staying the past few days. He doesn’t see Kai following anymore, which is a relief that the demon took Junmyeon’s silent threat, but at the same time, it feels a little empty after Kai pestered him for two weeks. He shook his head and slapped his cheeks. Get a grip, Sehun! He mentally scolded himself, demons aren’t supposed to be a company you miss.

Sighing, he collected his messenger bag and slung it on his shoulder before locking the door. He then went back to the main hall again to lock the front door, the side door, then finally exiting through the back door.

“Got all doors locked this time, Sehunnie?”

Sehun took a deep breath as he locked the door, glancing at the demon who was leaning by the wall, blowing out smoke from his lungs with the stick of cigarette between his fingers. Kai smirked at him and Sehun noticed that he’s missing his horns and tail.

“Can’t let others know I’m a demon, right?” His smile got wider to the point the young boy could see rows of white teeth. What Sehun has known of Kai, in the span of two weeks begrudgingly with him, was that Kai is not like any other demons. He knows some demons are proud of their appearance, finding delight in the fear they impose on people before eventually getting slayed by either Junmyeon or other demon slayers.

But Kai was different. He looked more human, acted like one and actually tried to blend himself as one. Sehun didn’t know why Kai took effort in blending with humans. Maybe he was the type of demon who gained pleasure in revealing himself by the end of the day. Or maybe using the appearance of a handsome young man was easier to get what he wanted, rather than being his scary demon form (if he was scary).

“Are you still mad that I tried to kill you?”

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

Kai laughed as Sehun ignored him, walking back to his apartment with the demon trailing not far behind. He had been cooped up in the cathedral for a few weeks, he doubted that there’s any food left in the fridge so he stopped by the convenience store to grab some food and snacks a few blocks away from his apartment. Sehun didn’t live in the apartment alone, he lived with one oddly strange roommate.

Despite the peculiar tendencies of his roommate, he liked being roommates with him. Sehun has checked his phone to find his roommate had spammed him with lots of messages asking when he’s coming back home, to which he just replied that he’s already on his way. Sehun put several chocolate puffs on the basket as an amendment for leaving his roommate alone.

The demon snickered behind him as Sehun put down the basket filled with assorted snacks and canned food at the counter while the cashier started to check his things.

“What?” Sehun’s eyes narrowed down at the demon, who nonchalantly tossed a can of mints into his basket.

“One pack of Marlboro red please,” Kai flashed the clerk a friendly smile. Sehun noticed the visible redness on the clerk’s cheeks as he nodded and took the pack of cigarettes that Kai wanted before scanning it.

“Hey! I’m not paying for your stuff,” He glared at Kai who gestured to the clerk to continue totaling his things.

“That’ll be 15000 won,” The clerk announced.

Kai then shoved Sehun aside, his gaze locked on the clerk’s face as he placed his hand on the counter, leaning forward. Sehun saw the panic in the poor girl’s brown eyes as she backed away a little, yet she couldn’t keep her eyes away from Kai.

“There’s no need for us to pay, right?” Kai’s voice dropped an octave and Sehun felt chill running down his spine as his face got warmer. The change in the demon’s voice was captivating, alluring than ever and Sehun couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to attend to whatever the demon’s needs.

“Ye—yes, you don’t have to...you can have it for free!” The clerk shuttered out shyly and that’s when Sehun snapped out of his reverie. The damn bastard is charming the clerk to give their stuff for free.

“No!” Sehun protested, slamming a bill right on the counter and collecting his plastic bags. Kai just chuckled as he dragged him by the hand out of the store while shouting, “keep the change!”

The demon bursts out laughing when they make it to his apartment. Sehun just grumbled in annoyance and waited for Kai to finish laughing.

“So that’s how you get away with everything huh?”

“Convenient, isn’t it? Although eating human food isn’t necessary for me, I find joy whenever I swindle and have people right around my fingers like that.”

Kai raised an eyebrow at him, grinning as he waited for Sehun’s reply. He didn’t get any as Sehun took the stairs up to the second floor, where his apartment was. His apartment wasn’t the biggest, but it’s convenient. It’s only a four floor building, twenty minutes walk away from the nearest campus and Sehun has been in this apartment since he was in his first year of college.

Arriving at his apartment located on the corner of the building and he’s not surprised when his door is unlocked.

“Baekhyun, I’m back,” He called out as he toes off his shoes and he heard the thumping of footsteps approaching.

“Ah Sehunnie, I missed yo--”

Baekhyun’s words were cut short when Kai lurched forward, wrapped his hand around his roommate’s neck and shoved him to the wall. Sehun dropped the plastic bag on the ground, panic rose up as he approached them and pulled on Kai’s arm that was wrapped around Baekhyun’s neck.

“What are you doing?! Stop Kai! He’s harmless!”

Kai jeered, tightening his grip around the male’s neck further making him choke and clawing on his hand.

“Please stop! Kai, stop!” Sehun’s hands started to shake and his eyes started to glisten with tears. The demon doesn’t budge at all despite Sehun’s attempt to pull him away from Baekhyun. Sehun felt powerless, unwanted memories started to flood his brain and it’s getting harder to breathe.

“Harmless? Unlikely, this man is a demon.”

Sehun was already sobbing hard, his legs felt weak as he crumpled down on the floor with his hands not leaving Kai at all. The demon’s words didn't register into his mind at all, the flashing images inside his brain hindered his words. He can feel Kai peering down at him, his gaze sends a shudder down his body as he doesn’t dare to look up and meet his eyes. The demon’s gaze has always been so intense, it scares Sehun, and as much as he doesn’t want to admit it sends excitement down to his nether regions too, but this time it’s just fear.

“Let me down you dickhead!”

Baekhyun easily removed himself from Kai’s grip, used it as leverage to lift the taller male to his back and threw him out of the window. Sehun blinked when he heard the sound of glass breaking and looked at the broken window with specs of broken glass cluttering their balcony.

What just happened?

Sehun felt Baekhyun’s arms wrapping around his head, pulling him closer to his chest as he smooth his hair gently.

“There, there, don’t cry. A vile demon like him can’t hurt me at all.”

Hold up.

Sehun broke away from Baekhyun’s embrace and moved away from him. Baekhyun looked harmless as he always is, lithe body covered in an oversized shirt and white hair, he didn’t look like he can harm anyone, let alone haul Kai out of the window.

“You.”

“Me.”

“Throw?”

Sehun pointed at the broken window and Baekhyun nodded while smiling.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“You nasty piece of shit, you fucking threw me!”

Sehun squeaked in surprise as Kai pulled himself up to the railings of their balcony. He looked unharmed even if he just fell down from the second floor. Kai stomped back into the living room, eyes predatory and dangerous as he glowered at Baekhyun, who still had his friendly smile on his face.

“Yes, I did.”

Sehun didn’t understand what was happening. Then the words Kai had said earlier finally registered in his mind as he watched the two of them exchanging profanity and insults.

“You’re a demon?!” Sehun pointed at Baekhyun accusingly.

“The nastiest of them all, an incubus,” Kai added, scowling at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun just laughed at Sehun’s reaction, his eyes wide and jaw dropped at the sudden revelation. Baekhyun, his roommate, was an incubus. He’s been living in one room with an incubus.

“Why—why didn’t you tell me?” Sehun shuttered out.

“You never asked.”

“Dumbass! Who the fuck going around, are you an incubus to strangers?!” Kai spat out in annoyance.

“The guy in the club did, I can’t see why you didn’t do the same Sehun.”

They spent the next hour trying to sort things out with Baekhyun. Mostly Sehun asking questions with Kai adding insults or mockery before his roommate —an incubus, hauled him out of the window again. Sehun also apologized to the neighbors that knocked on his door because of the commotion. The three of them ended up in a peaceful understanding, promising not to harm Sehun. All while Sehun is still confused and trying to process what had just happened.

Though Sehun wasn’t really expecting them to keep their promise at all. To Kai and Baekhyun, Sehun is food and nutrient.

“Relax Sehunnie, I won’t let him hurt you, since you’re my precious junior!”

“You’ll likely to suck his soul out of his dick though.”

That earned Kai a punch on his face ,yet the taller demon looked proud of it. Even with blood seeping down his broken nose.

“Not Sehunnie, because he’s too adorable and gullible, I took a liking to him.” Baekhyun confessed while smiling meekly.

Sehun tried not to get embarrassed and excused himself from the conversation to take a cold shower instead, while Kai and Baekhyun fell into another argument. He stripped himself of his clothes and dumped it on the laundry basket before stepping into the shower. The water against his skin felt great as he could feel it washing away the exhaustion he had of the day.

Pushing his wet hair away from his forehead and turning off the water, he reached over the shampoo on the rack. A warm body pressed against his back and the hair on his back stood up. Sehun froze as he was driven towards the wall in front of him, he placed his hand on the cold wall before he turned his head to see Kai with his usual smile.

“Wha—”

His heart jumped when Kai pulled him closer to his chest, feeling his warmth radiating through his cold skin. The demon leaned in, nosing at the side of Sehun’s neck as he held him close by his hand on Sehun’s biceps. Sehun couldn’t help but lean away, giving him more space to his neck.

“Is this okay?” the timbre of the demon’s voice makes his ears warm up.

“Yeah,” he sighed softly, Kai replied with a hum before he ducked down towards where the bite mark is.

The mark that was left on his neck when Kai had sucked his blood until he passed out. The doctor said that it will leave a scar and true to his words, it does. Sehun has mixed feelings about the scar, it feels as if Kai owned him for whatever reason and that thought stirred his stomach.

He glanced at him, a small smile pestered on the demon’s lips as he pressed his lips against the scar. Sehun couldn’t help the small whimper that slipped away, face flushed and hot when his eyes met the demon’s. Kai’s smile grew wider, mouth parting against his skin and he felt his hot tongue against the soft skin on his neck.

Sehun bit on his lower lip to prevent himself from making any noise as Kai lapped on the bite mark. His whole body shudders as he closes his eyes, his legs growing weak as he leaned onto Kai’s chest as the demon wrapped his arm around his stomach, hoisting him up as he sucked on his neck that made him moan. Kai seemed to be satisfied by that. Sehun could feel a smile against his skin.

“Sensitive, aren’t you?”

There’s that deep voice of his, that made Sehun’s stomach coil up and Sehun found himself breathing heavily. He could feel Kai’s hand around his stomach, pressing against the flat of his stomach before it wandered further down, and Sehun’s breath caught in his throat when his fingers brush against his length.

Kai halted when he felt a dip on Sehun’s supposed to be smooth back. The demon’s eyes are piercing, Sehun closes his eyes shut at the scrutiny as he feels the demon tracing lightly over the deep, long scars that go vertically downward on his back. The scar almost covered the entirety of his back, anyone who sees it would know that it was from a demon’s talons. It was a miracle that Sehun survived such an attack.

He braces himself as Kai’s fingertips touch it softly. It’s been years and the scar has been completely healed by now, yet, the marred skin still feels sensitive and every light touch ofthe demon’s fingers sends sparks on his skin makes him tremble. He heard Kai scoff, by now Sehun can see the male’s smirk in his closed lids.

But before any of them can say anything, Kai yelped in pain and leaned over Sehun until he’s against the wall. Sehun squeaked softly when he feels Kai’s shaft rubbing against the cleft of his ass, his cheeks burned hot as he followed the demon’s gaze. Kai’s face is red with anger as he faces his back, looking menacing and filled with hate at the smaller demon who beamed boastfully at them. When did Baekhyun slip into the bathroom?

“You freak, you fucking bit my ass!”

Kai attempts to kick at the incubus (who easily dodges it) but his foot landed on the wall across them, the wall cracks from the force of the demon’s strength. Sehun looked horrified by the dent on the wall and slapped Kai on the neck before he destroyed another part of the wall. Baekhyun, fully clothed unlike the both of them, waved at Sehun happily.

“Don’t forget to lock your door while showering Sehunnie!”

Baekhyun quickly dash for the door laughing when Sehun threw the bottle of shampoo in his direction. Sehun sighed exasperatedly suddenly, the cold started to come biting his skin again when Kai pulled away from him. He took the bottle that Sehun threw earlier and handed it over to him, Sehun’s face flushed as he tried not to look at Kai’s naked figure. The demon just chuckled as he took the bottle from his hand.

“Don’t catch a cold, little lamb,” and with that, he left.

Kai was nowhere at sight when Sehun finished showering. He finds Baekhyun on the couch playing with his phone. The window has been loosely covered by one of Baekhyun’s pastel pink masking tapes with flower patterns on it.

“That’s not going to keep any burglars out you know,” Sehun pointed out, drying his hair with a towel before sitting beside him.

Baekhyun grins cheekily without looking at him, “I know, but I will.”

Normally, he wouldn’t believe his words but now that he knows the other is a demon, he kind of believed that. Besides, Sehun doesn’t have any valuables with him, the only thing that’s on his wallet is just two pieces of 5000 won bills and the boba shop stamp card.

“Well, I’m going to bed,” Sehun informed the other, stretching his arms up as he sat up.

“Already? It’s just 9pm, the night is still young Hunnie.”

“I have to be at the cathedral at 5 in the morning to help Junmyeon hyung,”

Baekhyun cooed, leaning over the armrest as he folded his arms and rested his head above it. “how diligent of you Sehunnie,” he grins, “your Junmyeon hyung must be proud.”

His cheeks got warmer and Sehun looked away, “it’s just-- I have to repay everything he has done for me and besides, the other hunters aren’t back yet so...”

The incubus doesn’t seem convinced as his gaze turned softer, “are you sure you humans aren’t understaffed? With the massacre and people suddenly disappearing?”

Sehun frowned, there’s some truth in Baekhyun’s words. Most of the hunters were tasked outside the city to handle the sudden uprising of demons, not to mention there’s sort of different cases like a family found dead in their homes, gruesomely mutilated and people suddenly disappearing without a trace.

“Maybe we are, but it’s not like demons would attack in broad daylight, right?”

Baekhyun snorted before bursting into a fit of laughter.

“What? Did I say something funny?” Sehun frowned as Baekhyun stood up and approached him, standing up to the tip of his toes to softly pat Sehun’s wet hair fondly.

“Don’t underestimate us demons, Sehunnie, especially the ones that are desperate.”

Sehun tilted his head as he watched Baekhyun retreating back to his room. Sighing, he turns the lights off and goes to his room to sleep. He feels a pair of eyes staring at him in the dark before he drifts off to sleep.

====

“I’m going to go to the market to get some supplies, do you want anything Sehun?”

Sehun looked at Junmyeon, who was in front of the main gate with his ‘mom’ purse. It was a bag made out of plastic, usually used for moms or the elderly when they visit the market and he thinks it fits Junmyeon well. The younger thought for a moment, sitting on one of the benches after dusting the place.

“I want bubble milk tea, less sugar and ice.”

Junmyeon chuckled at his request, it was so like Sehun to want something sweet after their afternoon sermon was over.

“Okay, watch over the place while I’m away alright? The sisters will be back soon by the way, and so will your brother.”

Sehun beamed at the news. It feels like weeks since he last saw the sisters, as well as his older brother. He nodded and waved at the elder, “alright hyung, don’t forget my bubble tea,” he heard him chuckle before he’s out from the front gate.

The sisters aren’t really sisters in fact, they’re a couple. Bae Joohyun and Kang Seulgi, the cathedral’s witches who specialize in clairvoyance and tracking demons. They were tasked to find a headless demon who had been burning small villages to ashes a few weeks ago, along with his older half-brother, Park Chanyeol.

Sehun was adopted to the Park family after his parents were killed on his birthday. Chanyeol’s father found him half dead with claw marks on his back, still clinging on life as tears flowed endlessly from his eyes and since then, he has been in the Park’s family care. It took another few years for Sehun to recover from that incident, pretty sure he hadn’t recovered at all. The sight of blood and demons still made him froze on the spot, the scent of blood sometimes overwhelmed and rendered him into a crying mess, clawing desperately for air.

It was Chanyeol’s idea for Sehun to work at the cathedral, the Park’s family mansion was too vacant and lonely sometimes which he thought was bad for Sehun’s mentality, he was right. Despite being adopted into a new family, Sehun doesn’t feel like he belongs at all. He doesn’t have what it takes to be a demon slayer and he feels useless not being able to follow Chanyeol’s footsteps.

Being in the cathedral gives him a sense of belonging and a will to live. Besides, he met new friends that took care of him--in their own way.

Speaking of friends, not that he can consider Kai a friend, more like a creeper, stalker or perhaps a predator who has literally marked his prey, he hasn't seen him since the bathroom incident. Did Baekhyun scare him off so bad just by a bite on his butt? Or is he busy leeching or torturing an unfortunate human?

Why is he thinking about the atrocious demon in the first place? The less of Kai in his life, the better.

“Help…”

A soft, gravelly voice snapped Sehun out of his reverie as he saw a middle aged woman dressed in ragged clothes that’s covering her head approaching the door. The male stood up from the bench, moving closer to the woman who looked so frail and weak under her heavy clothing despite the warm weather.

“Are you okay?”

Sehun asked, putting his hands on the female’s arm to support her as he guides her to sit on the nearest bench. The woman’s lips were trembling, her hands were dirty and caked with mud, some of her nails were missing too. It looked like she just crawled out of the ground, but Sehun couldn’t be so sure. Her face is sullen and looks devoid of life, there’s a trail of dry tears on her cheeks and her eyes devoid of life at all.

“I’ll get the first aid kit! Do you need anything else?”

It was only then the woman met Sehun’s eyes. He gulped down, feeling nervous as he couldn’t shake away the ghastly look in her dark orbs. Her chapped lips cracked as she smiled, it was warm and genuine, Sehun can tell that far as she took a hold of his hand and he gave him a gentle squeeze for reassurance.

“You’re so kind, so gentle…” her voice sounds more broken than before and Sehun bites his lower lip.

“Thank you, but you have to let me go so I can cover your fingers.”

The woman shook her head slowly, her smile softening as her eyes slowly glimmering with life. Still, Sehun couldn’t shake off the strange feeling coming from the woman just yet. Even so, he still wants to help her as best as he can, that’s what he is here for in the first place.

“That can wait, young man. I’m feeling a little bit cold, will you warm me up?”

“Oh?” Sehun’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “okay, I’ll get some heat packs for yo--”

His words halted off when a sharp flash of pain erupted from his stomach. Sehun stumbled to the back of the bench in front of him, the woman now held his hand on a death grip as if her life was depending on it. The world went blur in an instant with the amount of blood he has lost, what just happened?

There’s something shining, glimmering under the sun rays coming from the window in the woman’s arm. Sehun focused on her right hand enough to make out a shape of a kitchen knife dripping with blood. He staggered, slipping to the floor clutching his stomach as the woman hovered above him. She wiped the blood on her knife and smeared it over her face, inhaling the scent of Sehun’s blood purring in satisfaction.

“So warm, your blood is so warm young man,” her voice is high and elevated, eyes looking at Sehun with the oh so familiar predatory gaze.

The knife landed on the side of his stomach, Sehun cried in pain as she twisted the knife into his flesh. The woman laughs as Sehun writhes in pain underneath her, “yes...yes boy!” her voice hoarse and cracking, a knife pulled out of his stomach and aimed high in the air aimed at his face.

Sehun instinctively put his hand up to shield his face from the strike. Biting his lips as the blade plunged into his arm, finding strength to kick the woman away fro  
m him. She laughed out loud, he only hoped that it’s loud enough to attract attention from any passerby.

“Where are you going, boy? More, more...give me your blood!” She screamed as she crawled back to him for her knife. Sehun, unable to pull himself up from the floor, has resigned himself to the fate that he’ll die at the hand of a crazy woman. He groaned in pain when the knife was withdrawn from his arm, consciousness slipping away with the amount of blood he’s losing just as he waited for the final strike coming that would end his life.

But that attack never came instead, he heard something heavy falling on the floor a few feet away from him. Sehun weakly glanced up to where the woman supposed to be rather, a tall man wearing loose jeans stood where she was, thin appendage hovering in the air. The raven haired breath was taken away, hating to admit that Sehun was relieved to see Kai’s warm brown eyes.

“Stabbing a weak, defenseless church-boy in the broad daylight,you humans are getting cocky, aren’t you?” Sehun caught the amusement in the demon’s voice as he hazily stared at Kai’s back just as he approached him.

“Kai…” he panted out weakly, the demon just hummed in response and gazed at Sehun in an unfamiliar warmth and gentleness in his eyes.

“Don’t sleep just yet little lamb, I’ll be quick about this one.”

That managed to wake the boy up from the cloud of unconsciousness. “No…” he spoke delicately, trying to pull himself up from the ground as blood stained the cathedral’s pristine floor. “You can’t…” he struggled yet no energy came out no matter how much he tried, the only thing he’s able to do is just stare at the woman’s face drained in color when she realized the horns and tail that Kai have.

“A demon…!” Her hands are shaky as she raises her knife directed to Kai. The demon doesn’t look bothered at all; instead, he entertained Sehun’s weak cry.

“Oh, are you telling me I should let her go? Look at you, little lamb, you’re clinging on your lifeline. Surely, you won’t forgive her, right?”

“Even so...You can’t kill her…”

Kai raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips tugging upwards into a smirk. Humans are weird, the demon thought as he watched Sehun laying on the pool of his own blood. There’s a flare of anger gleaming in the demon’s eyes but the church boy is too weak to notice that. Be that as it may, demons are possessive and Kai particularly doesn’t like it when someone--specifically, a human--touches what’s his.

“What I do, is not up to you Sehun.”

In his fogged mind, Sehun feels a sudden yet fleeting breeze blowing on his face. There was a scream, followed by a bone splitting noise echoing in the empty church before a loud heavy thud on the floor. The stench of blood is making him sick, Sehun would have thrown up at the spot if he had the energy to do so.

“What do you expect of me, I’m a demon. I enjoy ripping lives out of you weak humans.”

Kai’s smooth and husky voice was the last thing he heard before everything turned black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, welcome back! this chapter is a little bit longer thanks to more characters and everyone being concerned about Sehun hehe

Sehun sees blood staining his hand. His breaths come in short pants, vision blurry, and unable to move -- as if all his energy has been drained out of him. He hears cries, yet he’s unable to make out the pleas and screaming. Sehun glances up at the dark figure a few feet away from him, fingers replaced by sharp claws, canines red and sickly yellow eyes that seem to be glimmering in the dark room. 

It feels like he’s drowning, the voices grow more silent and in his blurred vision, Sehun sees something drop from the clawed hand. The ground quakes as the dark figure approaches his direction. 

Move, Sehun wills himself but his body refuses to listen. Fear starts to consume him and the temperature drops instantly, he involuntarily shivers at the cold, but his eyes watch the figure before him.

_Go away! Don’t, don’t come closer!_

Sehun’s eyes open, his heart hammering against his chest as he tries to familiarize himself with the white ceiling he’s staring at. 

_A dream?_

He groggily turns his head to the side, a familiar face sitting on the chair beside his bed. Eyes closed and arms wrapped across his chest, the man’s bright red hair stood out in the dull room. His brows are furrowed and Sehun worries that the other man has not been sleeping. Warmth replaces the terror in his chest, he’s missed him-- his half brother, Chanyeol.

“Hyung…” he croaks out, sounding so weak and dry that Sehun can’t recognize his own voice. _How long has he been asleep?_

It’s enough for the older man, his eyes snap open and look at him. Sehun tries to smile when he notices the other’s eyes are filled with tears, his body still feeling heavy but at least he doesn’t feel like dying anymore. He pats the sheet beside him, Chanyeol takes his hand -- the older’s hand is always warm. 

“Sehun-ah,” Chanyeol starts, gulping down the lump in his throat as he draws circles on the back of his hand. He swipes the stray hair away from Sehun’s forehead, a smile forming in his lips that Sehun mirrors. 

“Don’t scare us like that,” his voice cracks, Chanyeol has always been a kind person who cares for others more than he cares about himself-- that’s what Sehun admires about him. 

Sehun hums in response, nodding at his brother’s words. “What happened? Wait, how long have I been sleeping?” 

Chanyeol squeezes his hand again in reassurance, he doesn’t know if he’s trying to reassure himself or Sehun. “Two weeks,” A lump formed on Sehun’s throat, _two weeks?_

“It’s a good thing I still remember the healing spells mom taught me,” came a chuckle from the older, “it healed your wounds but in exchange, it drained your energy thus why you’ve been asleep for two weeks,” Chanyeol explained, it was only then did Sehun feel exhausted even if he just woke up. 

“I found you laying in a pool of your blood in the altar,” Chanyeol bites his lower lip, brows creasing. Sehun can tell that he doesn’t want to remember that image. “I thought you were...dead,” he gulps down. 

“I’m not hyung, I’m alive,” Sehun grunts, tightening the hold on the other’s hand as if to remind him that he’s alive. 

Chanyeol gives him a small smile, nodding as he wipes away the stray tears. “You were so pale, barely breathing, if I was a second late--”

“You weren’t,” Sehun says firmly, holding on Chanyeol’s hand tighter until the elder smiles, brushing his hair softly. 

“You’re right, all it matters is that you’re alive now,” he reaffirms, “though, I want to know what actually happened, do you remember any of it? Did a demon attack you?”

His stomach feels uneasy at that, it churns and leaves his mouth dry. The old lady’s blood shot eyes suddenly appears in his mind, it gives him chills and Sehun can’t help but shudder. The phantom pain starts to bloom where she stabbed him, then came the bone crushing sound he heard before everything turned black. 

Chanyeol seems to notice, he places a hand on Sehun’s shoulder with a smile. “It’s alright, you don’t have to talk about it now.” 

“It wasn’t a demon who attacked him, older brother.” 

It happened in the blink of an eye, he felt someone’s warm palm against his head and when he glances to the side he finds a dagger stuck on the mattress, just a little away from him. He recognizes that dagger-- it’sChanyeol’s dagger, and he recognizes that voice-- Kai’s. 

Oh no. 

He looks at Chanyeol, his face focused with his eyes hidden, a fury against the demon that touched his younger brother. Sehun wouldn’t say that Chanyeol is overly protective, but he kind of is, especially if it includes a demon in the chemistry. He knew what Sehun had gone through and the trauma that he couldn’t overcome no matter how many times he went to therapy--maybe it’s just that Sehun didn’t want to.

But that’s not something he should be thinking when Chanyeol pulled out his gun and aimed it at Kai, who has his usual shit eating grin. He seems to be thoroughly enjoying it, confident that Chanyeol wouldn’t be able to hurt him. Then his gaze fell to him as Sehun tried to sit up, putting his arms around Chanyeol’s waist. 

“Wait hyung--” 

“Sehun not now.” 

“No listen to me hyung--”

“Yes _hyung_ , listen to him,” 

Sehun couldn’t hear the gunshot but noticed the bullet hole on the wall where Kai’s head was supposed to be. He can hear the demon laughing as he lands beside Sehun’s bed, eyes glinting in mischief as his hand reaches out to him. 

“Close your eyes,” Chanyeol ordered and Sehun immediately closes his eyes shut. 

Something fell on the mattress--something wet but it was too light to be Kai’s body and too heavy to be just a smartphone. He felt Chanyeol’s hand covering his eyes, pulling him closer to his side. Sehun clings on the fabric of his brother’s shirt as he hears Kai cooing at the scene. 

“Barbaric,” Kai uttered, there’s something dripping down to the sheets now too. At this point Sehun is convinced that Chanyeol had cut a part of Kai clean, what part is it? He doesn’t know nor does he want to know. 

Unlike humans, demons’ blood doesn’t give out any stench. They’re odorless, only when they die the scent of putrid corpses can be smelled. It’s stronger than humans plus, it’ll take months for their smell to disappear. 

“Don’t fucking touch him,” Chanyeol spat out, Sehun was taken aback at how much venom he had his words. The difference makes him think that it wasn’t the kind, gentle Chanyeol that he knew since he was little but rather, a completely different person. Is this how the older Park is when it comes to demons? 

The demon sneered, deep laugh wholeheartedly. “Then you’ve missed a lot of things, hyungnim, I’ve done more than just touch him.” 

Sehun’s ears grew warm when he remembered what happened in the bathroom and the other times Kai had cornered him. The hair behind his back stood up, heart thumping faster as he remembered the sensation of Kai’s hands on him. As if on cue, the mark on his neck throbbed as Sehun carefully brought his hand to soothe it. Sehun was flustered but was brought to realization when Chanyeol held him closer, tighter. The younger looked up to his brother who had his jaw clench while trying to repress the anger running through his veins. 

“Why you--” 

“He saved me!” 

Chanyeol’s eyes wide, looking at Sehun and he felt like that anger the older felt for Kai redirected to him--with less murder intent, maybe. 

“It was a woman...a human, she attacked and almost killed me then Kai,” Sehun nervously glanced at the demon, who has his smile plastered on his face before he nervously met Chanyeol’s gaze, “he saved me…” 

Chanyeol doesn’t look convinced at all, he knew the older too well at this point but he had never seen him this cautious against a demon before. 

“Your memories might have been manipulated,” Chanyeol spectaculates. 

“Manipulating memories isn’t my forte,” Kai argued back, crossing his arms on his chest as he went back to lean on the wall across them. 

“Nothing would benefit me to manipulate your memories, or lying,” the demon smiled, eyes looking at Sehun instead of the hunter. Chanyeol was about to argue back before a new voice cut him. 

“It’s true.” 

Entering from the door was Junmyeon with his glasses and an odd, wool black vest with sheeps printed on it above his long sleeved collared shirt. The high priest ignored the demon and the hunter, smiling warmly at Sehun. 

“Good morning Sehun, how are you feeling?” 

Sehun merely nodded, looking cautiously at both Kai and Chanyeol as he could still feel the tensions between them, literally. 

“I’m fine just,” he holds his stomach, feeling the smoothness of the bandage beneath the thin fabric of his shirt, “hungry.” 

“I bought lunch, you can have them after I give you a check up,” Junmyeon approached the side of the bed before looking at Chanyeol, “put your weapons down.”

He instructed and Chanyeol quickly put away the gun back then Junmyeon turned to Kai, “please stop bothering my hunter and Sehun,” he frowned. 

Kai just laughs, pushing himself off the wall and walking to the door without answering him. 

“See you later, Sehun,” the demon smiled at him before completely disappearing into thin air. 

====

“Chanyeol did a good job, the wound has completely closed but still, don’t strain yourself. I recommend a few more days of rest,” Junmyeon advises, moving away from Sehun, “though it looks like it’s going to leave a mark.”

Sehun grumbled under his breath while lowering his shirt, lower lip jutting out to a natural pout. Chanyeol has replaced his sheets with a new one after Junmyeon nagged him about it. The red haired just laughed, ruffling his hair for a brief moment before standing up so that Chanyeol sat in front of him. The younger had been trying to avoid Chanyeol throughout the examination, he doesn't know how to explain to Chanyeol about Kai. 

He gaze away from Chanyeol’s serious face as the taller male took his hand on his, it’s the same type of gesture that his mother used to do when he destroyed one of her flower vases, it acts like a reassurance for Sehun that Chanyeol isn’t angry with him. 

Maybe he was, but more to the point of concern. 

“How did you know that demon?” Chanyeol asks calmly, Sehun notices his eyes falling to the bite wound on his neck. 

Sehun tries to look at Junmyeon, who was busy putting back the medical kit to its place, it looks like the high priest wants Sehun to explain everything by himself to his older brother.

“He attacked me,” he watched as Chanyeol’s eyes widened comically. Gulping down, Sehun decided to continue, “he drank my blood but then he decided to spare me. After that...you know,” he glanced at where Kai was earlier, “he’s just kind of there.” 

Chanyeol nodded, taking a few deep breaths then turned his attention back to Junmyeon who was carrying a lunch box and chopsticks for Sehun, “why didn’t you kill the demon?”

“Should I?” Junmyeon asks back while handing Sehun the lunch box, his stomach immediately growled at the warm lunch box as he opens it revealing a meal consisting of chicken fillet, vegetables and rice. 

The taller’s eyes immediately widened at Junmyeon’s reply, taken aback and Sehun knows that the elder is just teasing his brother. Chanyeol’s lips parted, trying to form some words before shutting it again and slumped on the chair. Though Sehun has the same question as his older brother, why didn’t Junmyeon kill Kai? All demons have to be eradicated, especially demons as annoying as Kai. 

Junmyeon seemed to catch the question lingering in the brothers, “he’s not the type of demon we can kill.” 

Sehun blinked while picking a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth, his eyes gazing on Junmyeon then Chanyeol--who seemed to pick up what the high priest meant by that. 

“Is he linked to the Red Queen?” Chanyeol asked cautiously, his brows furrowed in seriousness. 

Junmyeon shook his head, “no, he’s not. I doubt he has anything to do with it.” 

“Who are you talking about?” Sehun asked, voice muffled by the chicken and rice he had stuffed into his mouth earlier. Both hunters’ eyes look at him, Chanyeol’s hand reaches towards him to swipe away the grain of rice sticking on the corner of his lips. 

“People have been missing lately, none of these people had something in common with each other except that they receive a letter of invitation from the Red Queen, apparently,” Chanyeol explained, running his hand through his hair in frustration, “even our two witches unable to trace where they went, it always ended up in a dead end.” 

“It’s not just happening in our town either, it happened to the three towns close to us too,” Junmyeon informed before smiling softly at Sehun when he saw the boy’s brows furrowing with worry, “it’s nothing that we can’t handle though, rest assured Sehun.” 

Chanyeol nodded, putting his arm around Junmyeon’s shoulders while he ruffled his hair until it tousled everywhere, “worry about yourself first, we’ll handle it. Also, eat your vegetables.”

“I know,” Sehun replied softly, picking up a piece of broccoli and munching on it. “Sorry hyung, for making you worried…”

“I’m glad you’re okay Sehun, just rest up until you’re completely healed, okay?” Chanyeol said and Sehun nodded. 

Both of the hunters left him to attend different matters after Sehun finished his meal. He was thinking of just going home and resting in his own apartment but then, Chanyeol insisted that he rest in the church after Sehun accidentally told him that his roommate is an incubus. 

“Fuck no! You’re not going anywhere until I kill him!” Chanyeol roared while dragging Junmyeon out of his room by his hand. The high priest just smiled as he was dragged away, he somehow looked more glowing and happier now that his boyfriend, Chanyeol, had come home. 

Sehun was quite fond of Baekhyun, maybe it was the incubus influence on him that makes him trust Baekhyun a lot--maybe a lot is too far fetched. So now there he is, stuck on the bed with only the clock ticking as the only company he has. He doesn’t know where his phone was, maybe Chanyeol has it and forgot to give it to him after all of that happened. 

“I didn’t know the high priest had a boyfriend, he sure likes things that are bigger than him huh?” 

“Why are you still here?” 

Sehun glanced at the demon who sat on the bedside, the bed dipped as the demon made his presence known to him. The human’s eyebrows furrowed, looking disapprovingly at Kai but made no effort to rise up. Kai raised an eyebrow, lips twitching up in a playful smile as he playfully played with Sehun’s hair. 

“Need a place to crash,” he swung his legs to the bed, laying down beside him as he forced Sehun to scoot away a little bit. The human begrudgingly did so, scowling in annoyance and hoards the blanket before the demon could take them. 

“So what, you’re a freeloader?” 

The demon forced a laugh before flicking Sehun’s forehead in annoyance. The human yelped in pain, massaging the sore spot on his forehead glaring at Kai. The demon is watching him, those eyes of his are always deep and dark, Sehun has always felt attracted to it. 

It makes him want to succumb to whatever demon Kai is. 

“Keep staring at me like that I might think you’re attracted to me church boy.” 

Sehun’s face immediately reddened as the demon faced him, elbow supporting his head as he leaned towards him closer until he felt the edge of the bed. Kai pulled him closer by a hand on his waist, Sehun couldn’t think properly except how warm Kai was and it’s...nice. It seemed that he’s waiting for Sehun to say something but the boy’s words were caught in his throat.

Wait. 

Why is he hesitating? It’s not like he’s attracted to Kai or anything, it must have been some trick the other put him into that he’s feeling safe and comfortable around him, right?

“Wha--whatever it is you’re doing to me, you better stop it,” Sehun shuttered out, noticing that he’s been doing that a lot lately as he placed his hands on the demon’s chest who pulled him closer to him. “I’m not going to be tricked by you, of all demons!” 

Kai raised an eyebrow, eyes turning to crescents as he smiled. Sehun felt the demon’s finger circling his waist in a soothing manner. He cackled, voice deep and alluring, it feels like music in his ears. 

“What do you think I do?” his hand reaches out to brush the bite mark on his neck and Sehun shudders, the hairs on his neck rise up as he tries to fight himself not to lean onto the warmth of his hand. “You’re so stubborn Sehun, it’s normal to be attracted to me.”

His hand trailed down to his collarbone then to his chest where Sehun’s heart was beating. The demon’s smile grew wider as he could feel how fast his heartbeat goes, the human gulped down, unable to move. This is a different kind of fear he’s feeling then again he kind of expected this outcome, letting the demon close to his heart like this is a sure death for him. 

“What kind of demon are you?” Sehun gulped down, heart skipping a beat when Kai’s eyes met his. 

The demon just hummed before responding, “the kind of demon that exists because of you, you humans are very special to us.” 

“Bullshit.” 

Kai laughed loudly, laying on his back while his hand covering his eyes. Sehun just sighed, should have expected this when he’s talking to the demon. He slips his legs from the bed, the floor beneath his feet is cold as he stands up slowly, needing to go to the bathroom and maybe, away from the demon. 

====

“He’s toying with me,” Sehun grumbled under his breath while he washed his hands with soap. Turning off the water he let the silence fill the space as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked a little bit pale, eyebags a little bit swollen and dark despite having a two weeks of sleep. Then there’s the bite mark on his neck, it throbbed whenever he thinks of Kai. 

“I should get some sleep,” he mumbled again, turning the bathroom lights off and walking back to the infirmary. Then he stopped on his tracks, Kai is still in there. He doubted that the demon would move away from the bed even if he asked him to. He might have to share a bed with him--that thought alone makes his cheeks feel warm. 

“Ah fuck, I just want to get some sleep why does he have to be there…” He whined, running his hand through his hair in frustration. The beige colored wall beside him looked too clean and polished for him to hide his head to. Sehun doesn’t understand why he is feeling this way to the demon.

“Then, should I help you fall asleep then?” 

An unfamiliar voice whispered in his ear, looking up he saw a man with high cheekbones and lips quivered into a smile. He reminds him of a cat, his hair slicked down and he was wearing a red suit with nothing underneath it. Sehun thought of him as a weird looking man if he weren’t floating in the air. 

“Good evening human,” the man greeted him politely with a smile, “shall we enter dreamland together?” 

Sehun wanted to scream but his reaction was too slow. When his mind started to reassess the situation he was a few feet away from the floating man, strong arms wrapped around his back and underneath his knees. Sehun doesn’t have to look up to see whose arms he was in, the familiar warmth is a dead giveaway of the demon who was on his bed a moment ago. 

The floating man’s eyes glinted in the hallway, crossing his leg over the other as his eyes gazed down on Sehun before Kai, eyes darkened slightly at the threat before them. 

“Such possessiveness,” the floating man licked his lips, “it makes me want to take him away from you.” 

Sehun felt Kai’s grip tightened on him again, unable to read Kai’s expression at all. The boy’s gaze fell on the floating man in front of him, at first Sehun thought he was a ghost. He has heard the children whispering that the cathedral was built on the land that used to be a graveyard before. The spirits haunted the village, dragging them to the underworld with them until it was built, sealing them inside the church’s walls. 

He knows that wasn’t the truth, but he couldn’t help but think of it. Conspiracy theories about the church might have some truth in it since he doesn’t know the detailed history of it. If the floating man was one of those “ghosts”, he shouldn’t be so tangible--so he must have been a demon. 

“You’re staring, boy.”

Sehun squeaked, red dusting his cheek as he looked at the demon who was looking at him and stared up at Kai to find him staring at him in confusion too. He wrapped his arms around the demon’s neck, hoisting his upper body up to hide at the crook of his neck in embarrassment, Kai just chuckled at him. 

“What a cute human,” The floating man sneered. 

“Hands off this one, it’s mine,” Kai stated, making the red on Sehun’s cheeks reach up to his ears. 

Sehun heard the other laughed lightly then Kai grumbled, “for a church, it sure attracts a lot of low class demons.”

The other demon eyebrows arched up at that, “I didn’t know you marked this as your territory Kai.” 

Kai clicked his tongue, “the only thing I’ve marked is him.” 

“I can see that, quite a valuable thing too.”

“Hey! Stop talking as if I wasn’t here and I’m not a thing!” Sehun yelled, his hand hitting Kai’s chest harshly but it doesn’t look like the demon was affected by it. 

“Quit your whining brat, you’re hurting my ears,” Kai deadpanned, making Sehun feel more agitated. 

“I’m not a brat! You’re the brat!” he protested. 

“Whatever brat,” Kai rolled his eyes exasperatedly. 

“Is this what humans called ‘fighting like an old married couple’?” the other demon quipped, brushing his chin in interest. 

“Shut up Chen,” Kai glares at him, walking back to the infirmary door with Sehun still in his arms, leaving the other demon.

He expected that the demon Chen would follow them. But the hallway remained empty, as if Chen was never there in the first place. 

Sehun gulped down, now that he’s alone with Kai (in his arms of all places), he can feel his heart beating loud again. 

“You know...you can put me down now…”

“Oh?” Kai raised an eyebrow while looking at Sehun in amusement and the boy averted his gaze away, still feeling the heat on his cheeks. 

Kai puts him down when they reach the infirmary, Sehun turns the doorknob and enters the room then stops when he notices Kai isn’t following him in. 

“You’re not coming?” 

“Geez Sehun, if you want me to sleep and hold you, you could’ve just say so--” 

Sehun slammed the door right in front of his face. Fuming in rage while locking the door, he had enough of Kai for the day and the sun hadn't even set yet. 

====

Calloused hand brush against the scarred skin of his back. Sehun’s breath hitched, breaths coming in short pants as his body trembled at the hand wrapping around his length. He moans, hips grinding desperately for release as the hand on his back wrapped around his middle, holding him close to the body above him. 

It was an oddly familiar feeling, a whiff of tobacco and the warmth emanating from the other’s body makes him feel hot and needy. He whines softly, begging for more sensation from the man--or maybe this time, a demon. The visage of the demon with bronze skin and electric eyes that seemed to haunt his mind comes in view. 

Suddenly, the demon was beneath him with Sehun straddling above him. Kai smirked, placing his hands on the boy’s hips as he guided his hips to move. Sehun rested his palm on the demon’s stomach, following the other’s lead with quiet moans slipping out of his parted, wet lips. 

“Kai,” he moans out, the hairs on his back standing up as the demon moves again in a blink of an eye. 

Sehun’s back met Kai’s toned chest, the demon parts his legs further and Sehun blushed at the sight of his leaking, red cock standing and twitching, begging for a release. Kai’s plush lips pressed against his nape, lips trailing to the side of his neck planting kisses and hickeys on the boy’s delicate skin. 

“Are you having fun?”

Sehun froze, heart sinking down to his stomach at the voice. It wasn’t that deep voice dripping with honey that he recognized but rather a more high pitched, matured and alluring. 

“Sehun-ah,” 

The voice calls out again, it was familiar, he heard this voice recently. Slowly turning his head to meet Kai--well, he expected it was Kai who had been touching him indecently but no, he was greeted with a cat-like smile, eyes turned to crescents as the man leaned his head on his shoulder. 

“Wake up.”

Sehun had never opened his eyes so fast, sweat accumulating on his back as he stared at the dark ceiling. The sun had gone down while Sehun was asleep as there’s a faint street light creeping between the gap of the curtains. His heart beating loudly in his ears, breathing harshly as if he had just awoken from a nightmare. 

He’s not wrong though. 

The dream still etched in his brain, Sehun felt his cheeks burning as he turned his body to the side only to realize that there’s someone else on his bed. The boy’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the demon’s feline-like smile greeted his view. It was that floating demon he encountered in the afternoon, Chen, if he remembered his name correctly. 

Chen tilted his head to the side, eyes glinting in the dark but there’s no menace or that of a predator rather, amusement. 

“I would prefer if you moan my name instead, Sehun-ah,” Chen suggested, eyebrow raising as he raked Sehun’s body top to bottom with his eyes. 

The door opened, revealing Junmyeon who was carrying a paper bag from one of Sehun’s favorite sandwich bars. The older man looked exhausted, wearing a simple white T-shirt and jogging pants with rounded glasses as he closed the door behind him. 

“Sehun, are you awake? I bought you dinner--” 

Junmyeon froze by the door, confusion clearly written in his face. Of all things he expected, the sight of Sehun holding a demon on a chokehold never once crossed his mind. 

“Ah, I see that you’re recovering fast,” Junmyeon smiled at him, there’s a tiny spark in his eyes but Sehun doesn’t know what it meant. 

The demon beneath him laughs, not bothered by the fact that Sehun is crushing his windpipe, “it’s nice to meet you Junmyeon-ssi, I’m actually quite a fan of how mercilessly you chop off demon’s heads.” 

Junmyeon put the paper bag on the table beside his bed as he dragged the round swivel chair to him and sat beside his bed, tapping Sehun’s arm to let the poor demon go. 

Chen immediately flew a few feet up, floating in the air as he fixed his red tuxedo with that cheshire-like smile never fading from his face. 

“You’re not going to kill him, hyung?”

“Sehun, did something happen? You’ve kind of changed,” Junmyeon giggled. 

The younger blushed at that, flustered, though he kind of agrees that something has changed ever since Kai bit and tailed him. What changed? Maybe he’s getting more impatient and might have awakened his drive to be a demon hunter just to shut demons like Chen and Kai up. 

“No darling, you didn’t become more impatient rather, sexually frustrated,” Chen chimed in, folding his arms behind his head. 

Sehun threw his pillow at the demon’s direction which he easily dodged while cracking up at the human’s reaction. 

“I mean, it’s only normal for you...I guess I’ve been keeping you busy with the church too long Sehun,” Junmyeon reasoned, looking at Sehun apologetically.

“You, of all people, are siding with the demon hyung? You’re kind of being a hypocrite here, you’re supposed to kill them not back them up,” Sehun whined, lips turning into a natural pout that made the older man coo while smoothing the stray strands of his fringe. 

“Well he has a point,” Junmyeon shrugged. 

“See?” Chen lowered himself down, wrapping his arms around Sehun’s neck from the back and the boy felt shiver running up to his spine at how close the demon was against him. Junmyeon’s hands hold onto Sehun’s gently, giving it a squeeze to reassure him that no harm will be done on the priest’s watchful eyes. Junmyeon exchanges a look with Chen that Sehun can only interpret as a silent warning. 

“Sometimes you just have to let go, I promise I can give you a sweet dream, love,” Chen’s voice is alluring, tempting even, as Sehun glances at him and he swore he saw the demon’s black orbs turning golden for a brief moment. 

Sehun felt a little bit drowsy, Junmyeon held his hand tighter, his calm and composed face becoming a more authoritative, serious one. 

“By the way, can you drop that ‘love’ and ‘darling’? It makes me sick.” 

Chen cackled with dreadful glee, turning his attention to the new voice that it took Sehun a few moments to register who it belonged to. The cloudiness in his brain is now gone, whatever Chen attempted to put on him seemed to successfully break from Sehun. 

Leaning on the wall across the room with his arms folded on his chest is Kai in all his glory. He looked too overdressed, but maybe it was a demon thing to wear a suit jacket with nothing underneath it. While Chen’s was red, Kai’s suit is black with same colored trousers and pointed shoes. His hair slicked back showing his forehead as his dark hues stare intently rather, dangerously at the demon clinging around him. 

Sehun felt his heart beating louder in his chest, he couldn’t stop staring at the demon. He’s handsome--devilishly handsome at that, and Sehun recalls the wet dream he had earlier. 

“Ge-get off of me!” He scrambled away from Chen’s hold, Junmyeon pulled him closer to him and to his surprise, the demon easily lets him go. 

“I thought jealousy was supposed to be your brother’s thing,” Chen quipped, sitting down on the other end of his bed. 

Kai clicked his tongue before his eyes looked at Sehun with annoyance. The boy shrieked softly, nuzzling further to the priest’s chest further out of fear. Why’s he so pissed with him in the first place? 

“Demons please, you’re being rude guests,” Junmyeon warned, even though he was smiling Sehun knew that the priest was pissed. 

Both demons seemed to be contemplating Junmyeon's words, to submit or ignore the human’s warning? By now they both must have heard of what the high priest is capable of. 

Though that dilemma will never be resolved. A loud yell and a shriek coming just outside of the infirmary door destroyed the tension forming in the room. In the silence that followed afterwards Sehun can see a shadow of someone’s head from the opaque window on the door before it slides open revealing another demon,

Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun’s face was bright, smiling until his eyes turned to crescents and on his hand was a basket filled with a different assortment of fruits. 

“Hello Sehunnie! As a good roommate of yours, I decided to grace you with my beauty,” he greeted proudly, pretty much everyone present in the room rolled their eyes and blanched.

“Also, can you tell your brother to piss off? He’s been trying to shoot me since I stepped inside the church.”

“None of you are supposed to be inside the church,” Sehun muttered under his breath while Baekhyun skidded happily inside the room and a few moments later, Chanyeol followed behind his trail. 

“Seriously Sehun, what the fuck?” Chanyeol asks exasperatedly. 

“He’s my roommate hyung, the one that I told you earlier,” Sehun pointed out while Baekhyun gave the elder a polite smile.

Then Chanyeol noticed Kai who never moved from his spot on the wall. Kai smiled at him, feigning politeness as he greeted the taller man, “hi hyung, good to see you again.” 

Chanyeol just groaned in response. 

“Baekhyun?” Chen pointed at the incubus, eyes widening in surprise. 

“Chen!” Baekhyun handed over the fruit basket to Sehun before spreading his arms open and Chen immediately flew to his arms. 

Both of them laughed happily, twirling around the room with no concern as the humans were confused at what was happening. 

“Those two,” Kai grimaced as he suddenly appeared behind Sehun, scooting closer to him but his eyes are trained on the two demons giggling happily, “they’re going to be a pain in the ass now that they are together.” 

“An incubus and a dream eater,” Junmyeon watches them carefully before bringing his fingers to rub his temple, “truly a pain in the ass,” the red haired then turn his attention to the younger, “Sehun why do you attract such high class demons around you?” 

“You need to be exorcised,” Chanyeol advised, putting his silencer back to his vest as he stood beside Junmyeon. 

Sehun’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, looking back at Junmyeon, Chanyeol and Kai consecutively trying to see who can give an explanation to him as both Baekhyun and Chen chatter in the background before eventually exiting the room as they try to catch up with each other like they haven’t seen each other for a while. 

So much for the incubus visiting Sehun.

“They eat dreams,” Kai explained with a sigh, all the humans paid attention to him now, “sometimes they give good or bad dreams too, with that, he can track his prey, play with them for a while before sucking them dry,” the demon then smiled, “human’s disparity are delicious, rare treat after all.”

Kai turned to Sehun, who pinned him down with his gaze and Sehun couldn’t help but shrink a little. 

“It looks like he imprinted on you,” he gives Sehun once over, “tell me, what kind of dream did he give you? Judging from your face, it must have been a good one. Your face is glowing,” he scoffed. 

Junmyeon and Chanyeol’s eyes widened, looking at him for answers now. Even for a brief moment, the flashing memories in his brain of the dream being pinned down by Kai makes his face feel much hotter and flustered as he looks down, unable to take the scrutiny any further. 

“You definitely need exorcism,” Chanyeol concluded. 

“Yes, agreed,” Junmyeon nodded and pushed himself up from the chair, “but not today.” 

“You’re leaving?” Sehun asks, voice pleading silently at the older men for them not to leave him alone with Kai. 

“Sorry Sehun, we have a meeting with other hunters in thirty minutes,” Junmyeon looked 

at him apologetically before glancing over the clock. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll be at the altar,” Chanyeol reassures, patting his shoulder, “if he does something funny just scream, we’ll be able to hear you,” he pinned Kai with a look which, the demon just smiled shyly at. 

“But it’s late hyung,” he mumbled as he watched the two hunters leaving for the door. Chanyeol ruffled his hair playfully, giving him a smile and Sehun understood that whatever he does won’t affect any of them. 

“Don’t forget your dinner Sehun,” Junmyeon smiled before closing the door behind him. 

====

Kai didn’t say anything as Sehun ate in silence, laying on his bed with his arms folded behind his head, eyes closed. It was a comfortable silence if only he could get that wet dream out of his mind. Cursed Chen, things would’ve felt so awkward between them if only he didn’t mess with his dream. 

“Hey,” Kai’s voice broke the silence.

Sehun jumped in surprised, letting out an embarrassing yelp as his cheeks reddened. Kai couldn’t read his mind, right? The demon just chuckled, not bothering to look at Sehun the slightest. Everything that the human does always amuses him in one way or another. 

“You’ve been awfully quiet little lamb, did that dream demon spook you out?” He asks, a smile playing on his lips before his dark orbs finds his. Sehun knew too well tha Kai didn’t ask because he was concerned or worried but rather, out of amusement. 

Demons are heartless, there’s no way the other would care about his prey. 

“It’s none of your business,” he quickly shot down, finishing his sandwich before putting everything back in the paper bag and throwing it away. 

“Let me guess, he gave you a wet dream?” 

Sehun tripped over the air, heart thumping hard in his chest that Sehun swore it’s going to burst out of his ribcage soon. Kai howled with laughter, looking so happy and Sehun couldn’t help but feel the swell in his chest for making him laugh like that. What is he thinking? He doesn’t want to please the demon. 

“I--I said, it’s none of your business,” he shuttered out, approaching the bed once again to sit on the side. 

“Has anyone told you that you’re clear as a book?” 

Yes, people told him quite often that he’s as clear as a book. Chanyeol’s parents told him that it’s a good trait of his, it means that he’s always sincere and honest in whatever he does. It seemed that Kai had caught on what kind of wet dream Chen had given him earlier but thankfully, he didn’t press any further about it. 

Sehun chose not to answer him yet again, pulling the blanket away from the demon as he lay with his back on Kai. 

“Why did you kill her?” Sehun spoke softly, the image of the old woman who stabbed him a few days ago flashes through his mind every once in a while. 

He didn’t tell anyone about it nor does he show any indication that he was badly affected by the incident. If it weren’t for Kai, he would’ve been dead. That fact alone makes him feel afraid, being with Kai brings him some kind of twisted safety and comfort. Twisted as in, he’s a demon who tried to kill him once yet saved him from a murderous woman who stabbed, kicked him in broad daylight. 

“Do I need a reason?” Kai answered, a deep chuckle coming from his chest, “well I suppose I hate it when filthy humans touch what’s mine, is that enough reason for you?”

“You’re deranged.”

“Do you see me as a human Sehun?” 

Sehun gripped the bed sheets tighter in his arms. Perhaps if Kai revealed his demon form instead of hiding in a beautiful, handsome form of a human, Sehun would’ve loathed and despised him. 

“What are you going to do with me?” he asks cautiously, curling himself a little bit as he feels so self conscious at the shift of the bed. 

“Nothing,” Kai answered after a second of silence, “at least for now.” 

“What are you?” 

“You sure are curious little lamb, aren’t you?” Kai snorted in amusement, “is the horns and tail not a dead giveaway?” 

“Yeah but, Junmyeon hyung and the others talk as if you’re kind of an overpowered demon.”

“I am an overpowered demon,” the demon confirmed and Sehun can practically see the smirk on his face even if he’s not looking at his face. 

That confidence makes Sehun roll his eyes and groan in annoyance. 

They fall into silence again, Kai doesn’t make any move nor can Sehun hear his breathing. It feels like he’s alone in the room, Kai’s presence slowly fading away or perhaps it was his consciousness. Chen’s dream made him feel more exhausted than running around the cathedral. 

“I’m going to sleep,” he mumbled, closing his eyes. 

With his stomach filled, it didn’t take a long time for Sehun to feel drowsy. Eyelids feeling heavy, temporarily forgetting that Kai is still on his bed until he hears him speak, smiling a little bit, Sehun’s breath evens out as he lets the demon’s voice lull him to sleep. 

“Sleep well, little lamb.” 

====

The hard knocking on the door snapped him awake. When Sehun snapped his eyes, the room was dark, he guessed that Kai must have turned off the lights while he was asleep. Then he heard the loud knocking again, it sounded more desperate than earlier. 

“It’s unlocked,” he grumbled in annoyance, already getting up from the bed and slipping his feet to the floor. 

Who in the right mind is knocking at the infirmary door at this hour? Well, Sehun doesn’t know what time it is but he supposed it was late already. It was silent, the walls of the church weren't that thick so if the hunters' meeting was still going on, Sehun could have heard the faint chattering. 

The knocking then stopped when he reached the door. Sehun blinked in confusion, is someone pranking on him? He didn’t see anyone by the small window at all. 

Something is wrong, very wrong. 

That’s what his guts are telling him. The room felt a little bit colder suddenly, palms sweating as he gulped down nervously, it didn't seem like a prank. He doesn’t know why he feels so afraid, it feels like something is watching his every single move for sure, that something isn’t Kai. 

Sehun gulps down any fear and reaches for the door handle. Before he could slide the door, a warm hand holds his trembling one--he doesn’t even notice his hand is trembling. He feels slightly warmer and safer when he sees Kai on his side. There was no playful smile or amusement written on his face, he can see that even Kai himself is feeling vigilant of who or what might be behind the door. 

Gently, Kai retracted his hand away and Sehun pulled the door open, ready to hide behind Kai if it’s necessary. 

There was no one in the hallway. 

Sehun stood to the side to let Kai inspect the hallway before giving him a nod that it was safe if he wanted to go out from the infirmary. 

It feels a little bit anticlimactic so Sehun stepped forward, stopping when he felt like he had stepped on something. 

Looking down, Sehun spotted a red rectangular piece of paper beneath his feet. Curious, he picked it up and examined the paper. The paper feels rough against his fingertips, there’s gold embroidery on the corners of the paper and Sehun flipped it to read its contents. 

“Sehun,” Kai said, his voice a little bit alarmed and calling his name once more yet Sehun felt his voice getting further and further away. 

“I have to go,” Sehun said monotonously, feeling determined to meet the person who has gone through all the trouble to send him the invitation, “she’s waiting for me.” 

Sehun stepped out of the infirmary, walking through the dark hallway and exiting the church through the back door with the letter in hand. Ignoring Kai’s continuous call of his name as the demon managed to catch a glimpse of what’s written in the letter in Sehun’s hand. 

From, the Red Queen. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! i'll reply to the comments after the author reveal, look forward to the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to cut this part into two chapters because it's too long regardless, I hope you enjoy!  
> thank you to my beta as always!

Footsteps echoed through the corridor, Chanyeol opened the infirmary door for the third time that night after running throughout the cathedral to find his younger brother. Just to make sure, maybe the other is miraculously back to the place he last saw him. The sun rays were just starting to peek out from the windows, it’s been five hours since Sehun went missing without a trace. 

Anxiety washed over his body as he bit his bottom lip, watching Seulgi and Irene inside the infirmary, drawing circles with chalks with several glowing gems on their hands. 

“How did it go?” the hunter asks, walking in the room with careful steps as he doesn’t want to disturb their ritual. 

Neither of the witches answered him, eyes focused on the bright red rectangular and rounded blue gems in their hands. Chanyeol bites his bottom lip hard enough to bleed, how did this happen? Of all people, it’s Sehun who was taken instead of him. 

He heard footsteps approaching, the sight of Jumyeon’s red haired among the beige walls is hard to miss. His face was filled with worry, both for Sehun and Chanyeol who he guesses must have blamed himself for everything. He walks the taller male, tucking his long strands of hair behind his ear as he caresses his jaw to comfort him. Chanyeol sighed, his eyes had never been the one to lie and Junmyeon can see the worry and fear in his eyes. 

“It’ll be okay,” Junmyeon reassures and Chanyeol nods, not entirely sure about that. 

“How was it?” Irene spoke up without looking at the couple. 

“I followed his footsteps, he walked out through the back door then his footsteps disappeared,” the priest informed. 

Seulgi bites her lower lips, eyes giving an apologetic look to Chanyeol which the man just returns with a tight smile. 

“It’s the Red Queen there’s no doubt of it,” Irene concluded.

The glow of the gems died down, the circles and lines drawn by the chalk on the floor light up instead, paving a way towards the front of the infirmary where faint red flames danced on the floor. 

“It’s the same as what happened in Charles’ and Lee’s house,” Seulgi stated. Both Charles and Lee were reported missing a few days ago and the witches went to investigate where they might have gone but found the same presence as the one in the infirmary right now. 

“Fuck!” 

Chanyeol curses in frustration, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down as Junmyeon took his hand, pulling the younger closer to him. 

“We’ll find him, and the others,” his voice is sure as he looks at his boyfriend’s glassy eyes. Chanyeol took his time, letting the words process, while squeezing Junmyeon’s hand. 

“Relax, it’s not like he’s dead you know?” 

A new voice had both hunters and witches stiffened, hands on their respective weapons as their attention was drawn to the newcomer leaning by the door with folded arms across his chest. There’s a small smile on his face, to say the least, the male seemed to be quite entertained by the situation in hand. 

“Who are you? A demon shouldn’t have breached this place if you know what’s good for you,” Irene warned, hands on the gems as they started to glow dimly. 

The demon just laughed, lifting his hands up in an attempt to lower down the hostility in between them though he knew that it wouldn’t work with highly trained church members. 

“You’re Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said warily, recalling what Sehun said about his roommate being an incubus and meeting him last night. 

“That’s me! I’m glad you remembered my name, _ hyung _ ,” he scrunches his nose, snickering while stepping on the chalk line and Irene’s eyebrow twitches in annoyance. 

“Have some faith in our little, friendly and dense Sehunnie would you? All that worrying is going to add more wrinkles to all your pretty little faces,” he snickered at the stoic faces the humans giving him.

“He’s not dense,” Chanyeol argued. 

“An incubus is his roommate for months and he has a cardinal demon following him around without knowing who that is, I’m pretty sure he’s dense,” Junmyeon countered with a shrug, slowly relaxing his shoulders and lifting his hand away from his weapon as the three of them did the same. 

Baekhyun hummed in satisfaction, “I knew that the high priest was wise enough not to harm little old me.” 

“Why are you here Baekhyun?” Junmyeon cut through the case, he has dealt with demons for years now and knows that incubi don’t come to humans often unless they want something. 

“I’m going to help you,” Baekhyun stated, and there are various reactions to his offer. Chanyeol’s eyes widened such that the incubus worried his eyeballs wouldn’t stay in their sockets while the witches just raised their eyebrows, looking doubtful whereas Junmyeon seemed to have expected that. 

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m hurt that you don’t seem to trust me.”

“You’re a demon,” Seulgi reminded.

“An incubus,” Irene pointed out.

“Who’s mostly known to trick people before killing them,” Chanyeol concluded. 

“Okay fine, maybe my reputation is bad but trust me on this,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes at all the accusations against him while the witches and Chanyeol furrowed their eyebrows in doubt. 

“How are you going to help?” Junmyeon asked. 

“I’m going to do what I’m good at,” Baekhyun grinned proudly, huffing his chest. 

There was a brief silence as the humans stared at each other before Chanyeol spoke up, “...You’re going to sleep with the Red Queen?” 

“No, but I’m going to sleep with you,” Baekhyun nods at Chanyeol who stared at him with wide eyes while pointing at himself, Junmyeon stepped in front of the taller and wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s waist in a possessive manner.

Baekhyun’s smile widened at the priest’s silent threat. Even if the red haired is just a human, the incubus can feel fear crawling on his back. 

“What, you think I’ll help you for free? I didn’t expect you to be so naive,” he approached the group, sitting comfortably in one of the many empty seats available and crossed his legs. “It doesn’t have to be you specifically,” he eyes on the tall hunter, “anyone is fine as long as I’m fed deliciously.”

Chanyeol tensed up, his ears were red as he tried his best not to stare at the priest for far too long with adoration and perhaps, desire. 

“Fine,” Junmyeon sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration, “I’ll be the one to pay you.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened, grabbing the shorter male by his shoulders to look into his eyes, “No way! You can’t do that!” he protested. 

“Chanyeol,” 

“No! You promised me not to do something like this when we dated, are you breaking that promise now?”

“But Sehun and the others,” Junmyeon protested. Truth to be told this isn’t the first time he has made deals with demons before. Chanyeol was the one who convinced him not to do that anymore, that they’ll find a way together. 

“We’ll find a way, without their help,” Chanyeol’s hand started to tremble on his shoulder. To Junmyeon who has been dating the taller for five years,knows him well enough to know that he’s trying to convince himself more than him. 

He also knows why Chanyeol was so against him making deals with demons. 

It happened during summer break three years ago, Chanyeol was sure to die when he found him. The thought of losing someone he loves pains him so much that his despiration lures a cardinal demon out of its hiding. Without thinking much, Junmyeon agreed to trade five years of his lifespan for Chanyeol to be revived and the rest was history.

Upon hearing that news, Chanyeol still harbors a deep regret, yet he promised to give his love until Junmyeon’s time has passed. 

Junmyeon cupped Chanyeol’s cheek softly, caressing his cheek with his thumb as he smiled. 

“He doesn’t want my life Chanyeol, it’ll be a one time thing. You’re the only one I love,” Junmyeon reassured, heart couldn’t help but swell at Chanyeol’s natural adorable pout. 

“But still…” Chanyeol protests once again, “I just believe we can find them together, without you risking yourself again.”

“Why don’t you do it together?” Seulgi quipped innocently. 

Irene blinked in confusion, “Do what together exactly? Seulgi, you know what he meant right?”

Seulgi nods rather enthusiastically, “If they do it together then they’ll pay half and half, right? So it won’t be too heavy for Junmyeon-ssi,” she glanced towards the red haired shyly, cheeks blooming in red while she fidgets nervously at the sudden scrutiny.

“I don’t mind threesome,” Baekhyun points out innocently. 

“Then I’ll pay you too,” Chanyeol agreed, looking rather determined, “you wanted me in the first place…” he muttered, looking at Junmyeon not for the priest’s approval but rather, giving him a look that he won’t take any protests. 

Junmyeon understood and sighed, shoulder relaxed as he swiped Chanyeol’s bangs away from his eyes, “Are you sure?” 

“Yes, very sure,” the taller answers almost immediately. Once he’s determined to do something, there’s no way he’ll be able to convince him not to. 

“Then it’s settled then, I can’t wait for it,” Baekhyun clapped his hands happily at a successful bargain, it turned out far better than he expected.

“Since that’s settled,” Seulgi briefly looked at Irene then Junmyeon before finally her eyes landed on Baekhyun, ”can you travel to wherever the Red Queen is?”

“I’m an incubus, not a shadow traveller nor a hellhound, I can’t do any of that,” Baekhyun shrugs as he ignored the looks of disappointment from the hunters,“and besides, you don’t have to worry about Sehun for the time being,” he pauses while wandering back to the front door, “unless he does something stupid.” 

“Sehun always does something stupid,” Chanyeol groaned while massaging his temple, resigning that indeed yes, his little brother can be reckless and naive at times. 

“How can you be so sure about that?” Irene asks, crossing her arms on her chest.

Baekhyun crouched down exactly above the tiny flame that’s still dancing on the floor, looking up as he smirked at the humans. 

“Didn’t you say that a cardinal demon is following him around?” 

The incubus tapped the white tile in front of him, golden flames erupted from it. The humans took a few steps back at the sudden burst of flames that rose up until the ceiling, a sudden realization hitting them. 

“He’s not alone.” 

* * *

When he opened his eyes, a brown colored sky greeted his vision. 

Blinking rapidly, he rubbed his tired eyes just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Once he looked at the sky again, there’s no doubt that the sky was brown. It reminds him of chocolate with pastel colored yellow clouds that might serve as cotton candy. Speaking of cotton candies, the air smells so sweet, alluring enough that Sehun imagines if he could taste the air it’ll probably taste like sugar. 

_ Wake up! _

Sehun sat up immediately, feeling high on alert as his head throbbed. He winces in pain, shutting his eyes to relieve the pain. Few seconds pass by and the headache stays, but it’s not as bad as initially. It feels like he has a concussion from being hit too hard on the head with a brick. 

He turned his head to the back to find that there’s no one around him. Weird, he’s sure he just heard Kai’s voice. 

The boy’s brow furrowed in confusion, the color of the grass he’s laid on isn’t green but blue. It looks like he’s in a field of flowers, but the flowers aren’t flowers, rather the faces of plush toys with colorful buttons for their eyes. Sehun felt a shudder, gulping down as he felt like those button eyes were staring at him. 

The sky is in fact brown with yellow clouds, it smells so sweet that Sehun might just throw up and every inhale of breaths makes him taste peppermint in his tongue. 

“Where am I?” 

Synchronized footsteps thunder in the distance, Sehun stands up to see where they’re coming from. He then realized that he’s on top of a hill, a castle on the horizon, it’s true size obscured by a glittering haze. He guesses that it’s still dawn wherever he is now. 

The footsteps are getting closer, it sounds like a few soldiers marching up and Sehun squinted his eyes to see what it was, only to see shadows of big horizontal silhouettes hidden by the fog. Sehun’s heart beat faster when he saw shadows of long, sharp poles beside the silhouettes. 

_ Run! _

Sehun doesn’t have to be told twice before dashing into the fields of flowers, away from the approaching silhouettes. His feet stumbled on vines several times, stepping on something sharp as he just realized that he’s barefooted. The pristine white soil on his feet feels heavy, it feels like the whole land is against him running away. 

“Kai!” he called out desperately, not sure if the demon was with him in the first place but he knew he’s there, he didn’t hallucinate when he heard Kai telling him to wake up. 

Something exploded beside him, Sehun saw the brown sky momentarily before his body hit the ground. Groaning in pain as his ears rang, his visions blurry but he could see it starting to darken. He tries focusing his eyes, only finding the face of an upset king from a playing card looking at him. 

He looked around to find himself completely surrounded by them, was he dreaming? 

_ Don’t move _

Sehun didn’t dare to move when he felt the pointed end of the sharp poles he saw earlier, which turned out to be polearms, directed at his neck. His heart beating loud in his chest as he’s completely at the soldier’s mercy, Sehun thought that seeing the king’s disapproval face would be the last thing he sees before he dies. 

But then the lance was pulled away from him, the king looked at him before the cards took a step back. Even if the king didn’t say anything, Sehun knew right away that he commanded him to follow them. He gulped down and slowly stood up, surrounded by the cards as he followed them down the hill and to the castle. 

The castle was bigger than Sehun expected. It looks rather like a giant gingerbread house only as a castle instead. Sehun felt sick as the soldiers led him to the castle, it reminds him when he ate at an all you can eat sweets and desserts buffet with Chanyeol, leaving him barfing and unable to walk as his stomach churned at every movement he made. 

He hoped that Chanyeol isn’t freaking out right now, Junmyeon too, and ironically Baekhyun. He hoped that he could see them again.

The doors opened with a loud creak, it sounds so heavy even if it’s two thin chocolate wafers acting as a door. Where is he anyway? It feels like he was thrown into an overly sweet version of wonderland. 

All eyes are on him when he enters, one of the soldiers pokes his back with the blunt end of the lance to get him to walk inside the long hall that greeted them once the door was open. 

The curtains were draped in red with even redder hearts around it. Everything inside the hall is red, on the ceiling there’s painted murals with one figure standing out the most. The woman in red dress and a golden crown on her long brown hair is beautiful, drawn in such high quality and detail in comparison to the rest of the paintings. Compared to her, the colors in the scenery are so dull, like it was all painted a long time ago apart from her radiant, bright colors. 

The place reminds him of one of those Greek temples he saw in photos that Chanyeol’s dad took when he was on a mission in Greece. But this doesn’t have the beauty and grace the Greek temples had, it feels like an imitation a high school student did for their art project. 

Sehun then glances towards the people around him-- actual real people not just cards. They’re all looking at Sehun with exhaustion, as if they haven’t rested for days straight.

“Oh? What do we have here?”

A feminime voice comes from the veils across the room. The soldiers halted and immediately bowed down in front of the steps that lead to the pink veils. Sehun can see a large silhouette, bigger than he expected as he guesses whoever is beneath that veil is wearing a large balloon dress just like the bright colored woman in the mural above. 

A sharp pain shoots from his side, Sehun stumbled down to his feet when he realized one of the soldiers jabbed him, it must have been rude of him to stand before their ruler. There’s an eerily creaking noise coming from behind the veil, like a rusted machine being brought back to life. Sehun couldn’t help but wince at the noise, it hurt his ear and he swore something breaks from the said machine before a distorted version of the voice let out a static groan. 

“Welcome youngling to my humble abode,” the voice greeted him, it sounds more like a broken recorder with constant buzzing of static in the background of her voice. 

“You are here to serve me and if you disobey me, there’s death waiting for you,” she said it so casually, almost too bored as if she has said it multiple times. 

“Let us rest!” 

Sehun shifted his attention to where the voice came from. It came from behind him, a man in his mid thirties with a wild look in his eyes, breathing ragged with his clothes dirty from red paint and dirt. 

“My Queen, please! It’s been three days we’ve worked non stop with such little break, please give us mercy!” the man pleaded, hands trembling from either fear or exhaustion, Sehun couldn’t tell. 

There’s a tense silence that Sehun can hear his own heartbeat in his ear. Another groan of a machine from behind the veil, a heavy foot on the ground causing it to shake just slightly. Sehun saw the silhouette of the Queen getting taller and larger, she must be standing at her full height now which is probably three times taller than he is. 

Sehun’s stomach churned with uneasiness, his palm getting sweaty yet he doesn’t dare to move a muscle. Something bad is about to happen, he can feel it as he looks at a pair of glowing red orbs coming piercing through the veil. 

“Come,” 

The Queen instructed, her voice is back to the delicate and feminine that he heard the first time. Dropping the paintbrush in his hand, the man hastily walked towards the Queen and in front of Sehun. He dropped to his knees looking up to the red that glows intensely now. 

_ Don’t look  _

Sehun reacted too slowly, a splendor of red spewed from the man’s now torn body dyeing the tile with red and Sehun who knelt behind him. Blood pounded in his ears as his chest felt constricted. His body tremble as his vision blurred, the stench of iron blood hits his nostrils and Sehun suddenly recollects the fear gripping his heart on the night of his parents’ murder. 

He had to get away, escape from here but he couldn’t feel his legs as the dissonant voice laughed. Sehun feels all eyes are on him as the harsh voice spoke loudly but he couldn’t comprehend what it was saying but he felt mocked, looked down as if he was a prey.

Sehun is next, she’s going to kill him next. 

That’s what his mind is telling him.

But he doesn’t want to die just yet, the scar on his back suddenly stings. As if a reminder how painful it is to be torn apart. Shutting his eyes, he clasped his ears to block his impending doom. He wished Chanyeol was here, or even Junmyeon but he has no one with him right now. Kai, he has to be with him, right? Sehun had never once wanted to see the demon’s face ever again and yet, at this moment, he wished that Kai would shield him from the Queen. 

_ Breathe, Sehun. _

He tries his best to breathe just like what the voice is telling him even if it’s difficult. His head is throbbing as tears wetting his cheeks. 

“Breathe, boy!” 

The voice is no longer in his head now, it’s clear and coherent. Yet, it’s different from the voice in his head. Kai’s voice isn’t as deep as this one’s, who is it? 

Sehun raised his head, the blood still felt heavy against his skin as the man before him put a hand on his back cautiously. The man’s brows furrowed, bringing Sehun’s trembling hand to his chest and he can feel the other’s steady heart beat. 

“Breath in, match your heartbeat with mine,” the man instructed, “you can do it.” 

_ Eyes on him only.  _

Slowly, Sehun took a deep breath and let it out. The weight on his chest slowly lifts away as he tries to match his heart beat with the other man. He tried to keep his eyes on the other, distracting himself by noting down the man’s features. Thick eyebrows, round eyes and full lips. The man held his hand comfortingly, stroking the back of his hand encouragingly as his smile widened when Sehun finally calmed down. 

“It’s over? How pitiful,” the Queen said, disappointment is apparent in her discordant voice. Sehun felt a cold wave of fear washed over him as the red glow was now pinned on him, the man beside him still held his hand as he knelt in front of him, blocking the man’s mangled body from his view. 

“Throw the squirt to the dragon and kill the newbie,” she ordered, the soldiers suddenly seizing to the both of them. 

“Wa--wait!” Sehun protested, holding himself closer to the other man as his heart began to pound again when one of the soldiers tried to pry them away. 

“My Queen! It would be a waste of time!” 

Another voice spoke up from behind them, Sehun turned his head to see a man with short purple hair and cat-like features approaching to the front, hand raised up. The soldiers froze in place and Sehun took the opportunity to break away from their hold to pull the other man closer to him. 

The Queen whined childishly, it reminds him of a young girl being rejected of her toys. 

“Nothing is going the way I wanted it to today! You oppose me kitty?” The Queen huffed, steam erupted from behind and covered her shape even more behind the curtain.

The guy--Kitty, just laughs nervously. Clasping both of his hands together as he put up the biggest smile he could and bow politely before her, “it’s not my intention to oppose you, my Queen, I’m just saying that it’ll be a waste of time and manpower if you kill them.” 

“The squirt is really a great cook and all of your delicious meals have been cooked by him so if you let your dragons eat him, you won’t be able to eat that roasted chicken you love the most,” Kitty pointed at the man before him, Sehun notices his jaw tightened at the nickname before huffing in defeat. 

Kitty pointed at him next, “the newbie is pretty tall, I’m sure he can color your apples and roses red with ease. Judging from the looks of it, I can tell that he’s a good painter.” 

Sehun can feel the Queen’s gaze on him again, automatically straighten his back up to look at the pair of crimson eyes. 

“Is that true, newbie?” The Queen asks carefully, the boy can also feel Kitty’s eyes on him too. 

“Ye--yes!”

Sehun is not a painter, that’s for sure. He never painted before nor is he much of an artist but if it’s going to give him another chance to survive with that lie, he hoped that he won’t do too terrible when that time comes. 

There’s another heavy silence with the only thing he can hear is his heart thumping loud in his ears. 

“Fine,” the Queen finally agreed, “shower him and after that, he’s going to work.” 

The soldiers finally left their side, Kitty bowed once more and said his thanks. The guy pulls him upright as Kitty leads them to the door beside the Queen throne. Once the door is closed, all of them let out a deep sigh of relief. 

“That was close, I thought I’m going to die for real,” the man said, voice deep and shaky. 

“Be glad that the charm is still working on her or else you might really be dead,” Kitty said exasperatedly as he leaned against the wall. 

“I’m sorry for troubling you,” Sehun spoke up, apologizing as he kept his gaze down in guilt. 

He felt a hand ruffling his hair messily and he looked up to both of them smiling warmly at him. 

“It’s okay, I don’t regret helping you at all,” the man told him, “I’m Kyungsoo by the way.”

“Though the Queen calls me Kitty, my name is Minseok so I’ll appreciate it if you don’t call me Kitty too.”

“I’m Sehun,” he smiles thinly, “it’s nice to meet you.” 

Minseok leads them to a long hallway. Sehun was feeling anxious when he saw several cards patrolling with their pointed spear but Kyungsoo told him that it’s okay and they won’t attack them. 

“Minseok has a weird talent to make people agree to whatever he says,” Kyungsoo explained. 

“Oh,” Sehun looked at the purple haired man in awe, which made Minseok feel a little bit flustered. 

“They work better with people, not demons. I can charm them but the effect doesn’t last too long, a minute at best.” 

Along the way, Sehun tries to ignore the blood on his hospital garb and face. It’s hard to ignore them as his legs still feel weak and the smell is so strong that he has a strong urge to vomit. It seems like both Kyungsoo and Minseok noticed this, they kept Sehun entertained by asking him questions, engaging him in conversation to take his mind off it until they arrived in front of a brown door. 

Inside the room is a man in white collared shirt, on his lap is a lance that the cards used and he’s diligently wiping them clean before he looks up at them. 

“Yixing, we got new meat!” 

The man--Yixing, gasped in surprise. He must not have expected his friends to bring a blood soaked man with them. 

“Holy shit, what happened to him?” 

“Long story, but can you look after him? We have to go back to our posts before the Queen realized we’re missing,” Minseok said in a hurry as he slowly pushed Sehun in, Kyungsoo waved at him with a smile before the purple haired closed the door. 

It was awkwardly silent, Sehun didn’t know what to say and it doesn’t seem that Yixing knew either as he stared at him with his jaw dropped. 

“Uh,” Sehun shrugged, breaking the silence nervously, “is there a bathroom where I can, you know…” 

“Oh right,” Yixing nodded, gently putting down the weapon on the floor as he approached him. The room is spacious, filled with beds and an assortment of weapons ranging from spears, swords and shields. It feels like Sehun is in the weapon’s room, he’s unsure on why there are beds in here too. 

Yixing pointed to the right side of the room where there’s a similar brown door. 

“That’s the bathroom, there’s some spare clothes too since I don’t think you’ll want to wear that again,” he chuckled nervously. 

“If you need anything just call me, I’ll be here.” 

Sehun nodded at him, smiling thinly as he entered the bathroom. It wasn’t that clean and the pungent smell is enough to overpower the scent of blood. Quickly, he gets into one of the shower areas, rinsing everything as he tries to collect his thoughts and mind. 

* * *

Sehun doesn’t feel particularly brand new when he’s done. He puts on the collared white shirt and jeans provided before stepping out of the bathroom area. He froze when he saw two cards inside the room, the jack and king frowned at his presence as he took the spears from the ground. 

“Wa--wait! Please give me a second with him,” Yixing pleaded. 

The cards let out a grunt of discontent at the other male, “please, I just need to remind him who is in charge of this place,” he pleaded. 

The soldiers just nodded, walking out of the room with unified steps and Yixing ran towards him, rummaging through his pocket from something.

“Here,” he hands him a piece of white paper with an intricate drawing in it. It seems to be in some kind of language written with a brush, he doesn’t understand why Yixing would give him a calligraphy of various Chinese letters. 

“Put it on where they can’t see it,” Yixing instructed, seemingly understanding Sehun’s confusion. 

“What is this for?” Sehun asks, Yixing just groaned and took the paper again, undoing the first few buttons as he yelps in embarrassment. “Wha--what are you doing?” 

“Putting this on where they can’t see it,” Yixing stated before placing the paper on his chest and fixing his shirt again. “I don’t know if you’re crazy or just plain suicidal, a half demon like you should’ve known better to conceal your presence in an enemy territory,” he scolded and Sehun was confused. 

_ Don’t question it, play along.  _

“Uh...I’m sorry, I can’t really control it,” Sehun apologized, bowing his head a little bit. Yixing seemed to have bought it, he feels bad for lying to someone who had helped him earlier.

“It’s okay, that talisman only works temporarily. After your shift is done, come to me, I can make more for you,” Yixing patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile, Sehun smiled back. 

“Go, don’t make them wait too long.”

With that, Sehun opened the door and saw the two cards looking at him disapprovingly. They momentarily just stared at him before walking with a hand on both of his arms, leading Sehun to the courtyard. 

He’s not sure if he could make out the weather, as the sky is brown colored instead of the usual blue ones. But he feels like the sky is a little bit gloomy, in a much darker shade than earlier and he’s not sure if it’s a good sign or not. They handed him paint buckets, pointing at the blue and yellow roses, instructing him to dye it red. 

Sehun did as he was told. Painting the beautiful yellow to bright red that reminds him of blood. He tries not to think much of it, while painting countless roses to red. He can hear the soft crying of the roses as it was dyed to red, their little whimpering stopping only when Sehun finishes coloring them red. Sehun dyed the roses, each time he did, it feels like he’s killing them. Again, Kai’s voice in his head told him that it was just his imagination and he tried to believe him. 

The courtyard is bigger than he expected, it’s vacant and the silence is deafening, as if the flowers dare not to speak. He walked deeper into the courtyard, where he found a statue of what it seemed to be the Red Queen. 

The statue was extravagant, perhaps a little too overdone. Even with the colorful roses and tulips surrounding the statue, the bright red shiny figure of the Red Queen overshadows them. 

“A sick taste, don’t you think?” 

Startled, Sehun dropped his tools. Crimson color dyeing the green grass beneath him. Of course, he has expected that Kai followed him here with the number of times he heard his voice in his head. Sehun was glad to see the demon, it’s just the sense of familiarity that puts him more at ease. 

“You’re putting up so well despite the circumstances Sehun,” he doesn’t know if Kai is insulting or praising him. But he took it as a compliment because yes, Sehun himself didn’t expect to be alive. 

“It’s because of Kyungsoo, Minseok and Yixing,” he told him and Kai just laughed at his humbleness. Sehun noticed that the paper Yixing made him wear earlier is on Kai’s chest now. 

“The man in that room is a mage, he sensed me around you and must have thought that you’re a half demon,” Kai explained before he could ask, “good thing the Queen’s senses were dull, but it won’t be too long before she realises that a demon snuck inside her kingdom.” 

Sehun pushed down the anxiety forming inside him, “what happens when she finds out? Can’t you just take her out?”

Kai just laughed, there’s no humor at all and it made Sehun realize how helpless he is in this situation. 

“If I could kill her, I would’ve done so the moment you stepped in here,” he smiles at Sehun, though he can sense Kai’s uneasiness. “We’re thrown into her realm, she has complete control of this world and it’s putting me at great disadvantages.” 

“That’s not very overpowered of you.”

“Even overpowered characters have limits, right? It’s been a long day and I’m tired,” Kai huffed exasperatedly, wiping the stray hairs away from his forehead as if he had done any work for today. 

“Is it okay for you to be out like this?” Sehun looked around anxiously, worrying that some cards might be looking at him. 

“It’s fine, the mage’s spell helped conceal my presence even if it’s just a little, now people think you’re a half human half demon incarnate,” he let out an exaggerated sigh then turn to Sehun, “tell him to make a more powerful presence concealment spell for me once you see him again. If he can, pour it all on it so I can move freely and perhaps kill the Queen before she realizes something.”

“You can’t just order people around like that!” 

“Do you want to escape this place or not?” 

Sehun kept mum, he hates it when Kai is right. The demon scoffed, patting his shoulder at his easy defeat. The warmth of his touch makes him want to just curl up in his arms. Kai is right, it’s been a long day to the point Sehun craved for the demon’s touch. 

“Hate to say it but we can only stay low and wait for Junmyeon and the other’s move. Try to gather as much information about the Queen as possible. Maybe ask that charm speaker guy, he seems to know a lot. I hate being dependent on humans but guess I’ll lower my pride for a moment and see where it goes,” Kai groaned in annoyance, shrugging as he finally accepted the current situation they’re in. 

The demon looks at Sehun, watching how the human’s throat moves and the worry written in the creases of his face before he smiles. Sehun looked away, feeling his heart skipping a beat at that smile. 

“Good luck Sehun, try not to get killed or else it’ll be very troublesome for me,” Kai walked past him.

When Sehun turned around, the demon was nowhere in sight. Even if he couldn’t see Kai, he can sense that the other is watching him. That brought a little relief to him, Kai never left him and that fact alone makes him feel like he can survive through this. He decided to pick up the bucket and brush he dropped earlier. He hoped that he wouldn't get into trouble with the paint he spilled in front of the Queen’s statue. 

Matching footsteps are heard before Sehun could see who is approaching him. Turning his head to where the sound is coming from, it doesn’t come in surprise when he saw the same cards coming. Even the cards’ expressions are in sync, they both are frowning at Sehun as they take a glance at the splatter of red paint on the grass. 

Their grip on their spears tighten, Sehun feels his heart racing that he might be killed right on the spot. A ring of bell rang from inside the castle, he watched the cards relaxing before one of them approached him. Sehun didn’t resist when they yanked his arm, wincing in pain at the steel grip around his bicep. 

“I can walk all by myself,” he grumbled when they’re back inside the castle. The hold around him grew tighter, Sehun cried in pain when he could feel those fingers piercing his skin. 

He was literally being dragged down to a spiral set of stairs. The further down they stepped, the darker it gets with only yellow dimmed lights on the walls lighting their way. It feels like the card gripping his hand tighter on purpose, just to see Sehun cried out in pain once again. He can see crimson blood staining his sleeve around the knight’s armor clad hand. 

_ Bear with it. _

Kai spoke up in his mind, his voice sounded a little bit restrained. 

_ I know! _

Sehun practically yelled in his mind in response. He shuts his eyes when they reach the end of the staircase. In his mind, Sehun can see Kai clearly. His knuckles tightened until they turned white and jaw tightened. He felt a chill run down his spine when he saw Kai’s irises turned red, glowing in the darkness of his mind as his human figure slowly became distorted. 

He opened his eyes when the cards stopped walking, noticing that they had their eyes on him. Sehun can feel hostility coming from them, watching one of them gripping their spear while the other lets go of his arm. The boy’s shoulder relaxed when the pressure was off his now bruised arm, but he couldn't sigh in relief just yet.

Both of their hands are on their spear, Sehun feels like a cornered rabbit waiting for his prey to finish him. 

But that’s not the case, is it?

Inside him there’s boiling flames. Sehun has watched their movements carefully and smiles. The cards’ faces didn't falter, but it was evident in the way their hands trembled. 

They couldn't win against him. 

Whether it’s a hundred or a thousand of them, they still couldn’t win with that flimsy, paper thin bodies. 

After all, they don’t stand a chance against a demon like him. 

“Hey!” 

Sehun snapped out of his thoughts, turning his head to the right to see Minseok leaning against the iron bars. The cards seemed staring at the purple haired male, looking more agitated and wary for some reason. 

“Don’t just stand there, let the boy in, will you?” It was a command, perhaps Minseok is using his ability against the cards. It took several seconds for the soldiers to go pliant at Minseok’s words. Unlocking the door, they shoved Sehun inside the cell before marching out of the place. 

Sehun just stared at the iron bar dumbfoundedly, his legs suddenly gave up on him as he fell to his knees with his body trembling in fear. 

What just happened?

He jolted at the sudden hand behind his back, looking at whose hand it belonged to but loosen up when he saw Minseok with his concerned face. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, smoothing his back comfortingly until Sehun sat down on the dirtied ground with a nod. 

“You gotta be careful there boy, I don’t know how strong you are but it’s stupid to challenge the cards like that,” Minseok frowned. 

He noticed that the cell is larger than he expected, there’s at least twenty or thirty people inside the cell. Sehun can hear several soft chattering coming from the other cells, a soft snores and coughing. Scanning his eyes around the area, he can see tired eyes and people sleeping uncomfortably on the concrete ground. He noticed that some looked at him warily, some refused to make eye contact or minding their own business.

“Yixing hyung isn’t here yet,” Sehun snapped back to Minseok as the elder sat in front of him, tearing the bottom end of his shirt. 

“What are you doing?” Sehun’s eyes widened, flustered at Minseok’s action as the man nodded to his bleeding arm. 

“I can’t do magic so this will do for the moment,” he said while wrapping the stripe of cloth tightly around his arm. “Does it hurt?” 

Sehun bites down his lower lip and shakes his head, it hurts less compared than earlier. When Minseok finishes bandaging his arm, a young woman approaches them. She has long, light colored hair as she looks at him, her brown orbs curious while she hands him a loaf of bread. 

“Are you a human?” She bluntly asks.

Perplexed, Sehun blinks in confusion. Of course he is a human, what makes her doubts he is one?

“Yeri!” Minseok chided. 

“Challenging the knights for a fight is one thing, but can you recall the expression you had earlier?” The girl--Yeri, continues with her eyebrows raised yet Sehun can see her eyes shaking just the slightest. The girl is trying to look strong despite being scared of him. 

Sehun tries to recall, he doesn’t know what facial expression he had earlier but he remembers the feeling flowing through him.

Anger, confidence and depravity.

Yeri scoffed, she seemingly had her answer already. Sehun wants to refute, because that’s not true at all.

“He’s a half demon Yeri,” Minseok sighed exasperatedly, trying to lighten up the mood before he turned to Sehun. He expected that the male would look at him just like Yeri did, suspicious and afraid but no, rather, he looked concerned as he smiled in reassurance. 

Sehun returns the smile half heartedly, grateful that Minseok choses to defend him. The girl nodded, her face softened a little as she nodded before she looked at him shyly. 

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, bowing briefly. 

“No, it’s alright,” Sehun rubbed the back of his head nervously, “I’m sorry...for scaring you, I still can’t control my demonic side just yet,” he lied.

“Oh you’re not the one scaring me,” Yeri quipped.

The male’s eyes widened, he could hear Kai snorted, laughing in the back of his mind but he ignored that for now. 

“Those knights...think of them as one. If you kill one, the others will take notice despite not being in the same vicinity,” She said cautiously, afraid that someone might listen to their conversation. Sehun took it that not many people know about this either. 

“You might be able to take one or two of them easily but they’re endless. What you have that they don’t is exhaustion, they can’t get exhausted as they’re manufactured by the Queen herself,” Yeri explained further. 

“We have a bunch of capable men and women here, some of them are powerful mages too. We could’ve overthrown the Queen before the church notices if it wasn’t for that setback, all of us will be battered and exhausted before we finally face the Queen.”

Minseok gritted his teeth, knuckles turning into white and Sehun's jaw tightened, feeling the weight of helplessness starting to suffocate. The demon inside him is silent and he remembered what Kai had said in the garden. 

They’re helpless. 

“The church will find us,” Yeri glanced to Sehun then Minseok, looking for some kind of reassurance, “right?” 

Then silence befell on the cells, it’s as if they’ve been listening to what they’re talking about. Sehun couldn’t look at Yeri, he wanted to reassure her that everything will be fine but it would be cruel to lie to her.

“Let’s just rest up, who knows when the soldiers will wake us up for work tomorrow,” Minseok diverts the subject, placing his hand on Yeri’s shoulder as she frowned before sighing, walking towards two girls who are sleeping by the wall. 

“You should eat before going to sleep,” Minseok’s attention turned to him, Sehun just nodded. 

“Thanks,” he smiles while leaning back to the bars as Minseok sits beside him with a smile. He took a bite of the bread, as expected it tastes bland and the texture is tough. It took him a few moments to be able to chew them off but at least it’s food. Sehun forgets that he hasn't eaten anything since he arrived here yet, he doesn’t feel that hungry either. 

Is it Kai’s power bleeding into him? 

_ You’re welcome.  _

Sehun grumbled under his breath, he could see Kai’s face and his sly smile clear in his mind now. Minseok’s hearty laugh brought him back, turning around to see the elder smiling as he brought his hand to ruffle Sehun’s black locks. 

“Great job on surviving your first day here, I hope tomorrow will be lighter for you,” Minseok said reassuringly, Sehun’s eyes glimmered with a newfound motivation to do his best tomorrow for the male as he nodded. 

“Where’s Kyungsoo and Yixing?” he asked, already giving up on eating the bread as it hurts his jaw more than it satisfies his non-existent hunger. 

“Kyungsoo’s probably in the kitchen cooking for the Queen’s dinner right now while Yixing’s probably in the cell with the elderly, treating their wounds.”

“There’s elders too?” Sehun’s eyes widened as Minseok nodded. 

“Yeah, not sure on why the Queen would have kidnapped them too,” Minseok sighed, anger started to flare up inside him. 

“How long have you been here?” Sehun asks again.

“Fourteen days, give or take, I stopped counting anymore,” Minseok forced a smile as he noticed Sehun’s brows furrowed in worry, “there are some who've been longer than me here. But none really survived that long, either they got killed, starved or overworked.” 

They fell into silence again.

Minseok offered him his shoulder to sleep on, which Sehun politely declined as he didn't want to trouble the older male more. He rests his eyes then the image of the church with Junmyeon and Chanyeol flashes in his mind. It’s just a day yet Sehun missed them dearly, he hoped that they’ll find him and rest well. If either of them were here, surely they’d know what to do. 

Junmyeon has always been calm and composed even in dire situations. He has witnessed how the priest leads the hunters, he trusts them and the hunters trust him too. His kills are always clean and Sehun knows that he often single handedly defeats high ranked demons too. 

Meanwhile his brother, Chanyeol, is a force of nature. He outwits his opponents, overcoming difficulties with his raw power and wit. He might seem like the arrogant, hot headed hunter but Chanyeol is quick and calculating. Able to do analysis of his opponents while he’s in combat with them. 

Just thinking about the two of them makes his heart a little bit lighter. He just hoped they wouldn't strain themselves to find them. 

He then heard coordinated footsteps in the hall. The knights are coming, as he leaned over to the cell bar to see their shadows filling the walls before they stood in front of their cell. 

Kyungsoo and Yixing are with them as they unlock the cell and push them both inside before retreating, Sehun swore they’re staring daggers at him. 

“Are you okay?” Minseok asks them both to which they nodded. 

“We’re fine,” Kyungsoo said, smiling reassuring Minseok. 

“I’m exhausted,” Yixing sighed heavily, already finding a spot on the ground to lay down. “I used more magic than I expected today I think I’m going to tune in for the day.”

“I’m sorry,” Sehun apologized, reminded of how Yixing helped him to conceal Kai. 

“It’s okay Sehun...isn’t it?” Yixing confirmed and Sehun nodded, “I’m always glad to help you.”

_ Ask him to make more of those. _

_ He’s exhausted Kai, can’t you see?!  _

Sehun mentally scolded the demon, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Kai kept mum, in his head he could see that the other was pouting at him. It was a cute sight, if Sehun were to be honest, it breaks whatever scary, not-so-overpowered demon image that Kai is trying to uphold.

_ I can listen to your thoughts _

The boy just smiles triumphantly, even if the color of his cheeks starts to get red. He’s glad that the room is dimly lit. 

“Sehun are you okay? You’re smiling to yourself,” Kyungsoo pointed out, judging him.

“I’m okay! I was just…” he thought for a moment, “conversing with my demon side.”

The two of them seemed to have bought it as Sehun felt embarrassment creeping up to him. 

“You can talk to your demon side?” Yixing quipped, suddenly interested in Sehun rather than sleep. 

“I can,” he nodded, feeling bad lying to the people that helped him, “he sometimes talks in my head.” 

The three of them nodded slowly, seemingly in awe at that.

“So, a parasitic demon,” Minseok concluded and Sehun knows why a part of him is annoyed at that, that part is Kai. 

“Yeah,” Sehun agreed, trying not to laugh at what Minseok said. Kai just grumbled in his mind, his heart skipped a beat as the demon managed to pout even harder. 

Sehun ended up handing his bread to Kyungsoo and Yixing, who didn’t get any share of it. At first, they refused to take it as Kyungsoo convinced them that he ate in the kitchen already but Sehun told them that being half demon means he can go days without food. What confuses him is how Kyungsoo and Yixing looked at him after he said that, he can sense that they’re pitying him for whatever reason. 

_ Half demons never lived too long, especially with a parasitic demon. They must think that you don’t have much time, since being unable to feel hunger is one of the final symptoms before they die. _

Kai explained solemnly, Sehun can feel sadness welling up inside him for the half demons. To which, the demon just chuckles half heartedly, saying  _ you’re too kind, Sehun  _ before he leaves his mind. 

After Kyungsoo and Yixing ate, they all laid on the ground with Sehun in between Yixing and Minseok. 

“I hope that handsome man appears in my dreams again,” Minseok chuckled half heartedly as he stared at the ceiling. 

“Who?” Sehun asks curiously. 

Minseok looked starstruck as he reminisced about the man in his dreams before turning to look at Sehun. 

“It’s a man that appeared in my dream before I got taken here,” he shrugged, “he visited me in my dreams for days straight and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him ever since.”

“What does he look like?” Sehun is now genuinely curious, it’s better to talk about something else except their miserable situation right now. 

“High cheekbones, prominent Adam's apple, long lashes and he has a feature that reminds you of a cat?” Kyungsoo questioned and both of them turned to him. 

“You’re right,” Minseok said in disbelief, slowly raising up to his elbows, “how did you know that?” 

Kyungsoo’s wide eyes grew wider, it’s as if he doesn’t expect that he’s correct. “I saw him in my dreams before this shit happened.”

Yixing suddenly sat up, looking at them both in the same surprised expression. 

“Wait a minute, I feel like I've dreamt of someone with the exact description as you before I got trapped here,” Yixing pointed at Minseok and Kyungsoo slowly. 

Sehun can feel Kai rise up inside him, he doesn’t know why he’s suddenly interested in the conversation while Sehun feels a little bit lost. 

“Did he tell you his name?” Kyungsoo asked in a soft whisper, not wanting to wake the others up. 

Both Minseok and Yixing shook his head together. 

“No,” Minseok said, laying back down to the ground as he plays with the hem of his shirt. 

“Chen.” 

Yeri said in a hushed voice from the back and it suddenly dawned on him to where this is going.

“I saw him too...in my dreams, before they took me here…” Yeri softly confesses, her eyes refusing to look at the boys. 

_ Fucking hell  _

Kai cursed mentally in his mind, for some reason he can feel the demon’s anger oozing out of him again. Sehun on the other hand, suddenly hears the dream eater’s laugh somewhere in his brain to which Kai immediately dismisses.

_ It’s him, he’s the one who leads them all here.  _

Suddenly, Sehun regretted not killing the demon with his bare hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading this so far! sorry for the sporadic update  
> talk to me on twitter @l0vetheory

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed it, look forward to the next chapter!  
> comments and kudos will be much appreciated!


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